Ctbrarp  of  the  'theological  ^eminarjp 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 

PRESENTED  BY 

Jolm  Stuart  Conning,  D.D. 

BV  2623  . A2  A37  1923 
Abrams,  Julius  H. 

Out  of  the  house  of  Judah 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/outofhouseofjudaOOabra 


Commandant  JULIUS  H.  ABRAMS 


#v 

Out  of  the  House  of 

Judah: 

A  Story  of  Conversion  to  Christianity 


By  y 

COMMANDANT  JULIUS  H.  ABRAMS 

of  the  Salvation  Army 


Introduction  by 

BISHOP  JOHN  W.  HAMILTON 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church 


New  York  Chicago 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1923,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:  75  Princes  Street 


“  Why  was  I  made  to  hear  His  voice , 

To  see  His  Heavenly  face  t 
While  darkness  like  a  mantle 
Enshrouds  God's  chosen  race  ? 

'T  was  the  same  love  that  spread  the  feast 
That  sweetly  forced  me  in; 

*T  was  the  same  power  that  made  the  worlds 
That  cancelled  all  my  sin.” 


INTRODUCTION 


I  HA  YE  read  this  story  of  the  author’s  con¬ 
version  and  ministry  with  the  deepest  feel¬ 
ing  and  with  far  more  than  “  compensatory 
interest  ”  for  the  time  given  to  it.  Like  Terence, 
“  I  am  a  man,”  and  whatever  is  human  compels 
my  sympathy. 

If  our  Hebrew  friends  and  Christian  people 
would  read  this  simple  story  taken  from  the  annals 
of  the  poor  in  real  life,  as  I  read  it,  there  would 
be  less  room  for  the  troublesome  gulf  between  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  New,  between  the  Jews  and 
the  Gentiles.  “  Sympathy,”  as  Wilberforce  said, 
“  rules  the  world.”  Here  is  a  man  whose  life  is 
among  the  lowly,  but  who  is  sent  as  a  prophet  of 
the  Most  High  God  to  bring  good  tidings  of  great 
joy  to  his  neighbours.  He  bothers  nothing  about 
the  “  Historic  Christ,”  but  preaches  to  the  heavy 
heart  a  personal  Saviour.  Once  He  is  accepted, 
His  history  is  so  much  a  fact  that  even  prejudice 
falls  down  to  worship  Him. 

We  have  given  the  Jews  a  refuge  from  all  their 
foreign  foes  in  the  wide  welcome  thrown  open  to 
them  in  America.  They  come  with  grateful  hearts 
to  this  Christian  country  and  are  thus  prejudiced 

in  favour  of  so  much  that  is  Christian  in  their  wel- 

6 


6 


INTRODUCTION 


come.  Now,  if  the  Christian  people  will  forget 
their  prejudice  against  these  newcomers,  and  throw 
open  their  hearts  and  their  homes,  as  the  country 
has  done,  love  their  neighbours  as  themselves, 
Jesus,  who  is  both  Jew  and  Christian,  will  come 
unto  all  the  Hebrew  people  in  America  and  make 
His  abode  with  them. 

John  W.  Hamilton, 

Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Washington,  D.  C. 


PREFACE 


IAVING  been  urged  by  many  to  write  the 
story  of  my  conversion  from  Judaism  to 
Christianity,  I  deem  it  a  great  privilege 
to  set  forth  the  following  account  of  my  Christian 
experience,  from  the  time  of  my  conversion  to  the 
present, — a  duration  of  twenty  years.  I  am  un¬ 
dertaking  this  task  with  the  earnest  prayer  that 
this  narrative  may  not  simply  gratify  the  over- 
curious,  but  that  it  may  accomplish  the  mission  and 
purpose  for  which  it  is  intended,  and  bring  forth 
the  much  desired  fruits  of  righteousness  and  praise 
unto  our  God  through  His  Son,  Jesus  Christ;  to 
whom  be  all  the  glory! 

I  venture  to  tell  these  experiences  in  the  sincere 
hope  that  by  confessing  my  own  weaknesses  and 
difficulties  the  power  of  God  may  be  exalted,  and 
thereby  inspire  other  burdened  converts  to  Chris¬ 
tianity  to  run  with  patience  the  race  set  before 
them  and  at  the  same  time,  perhaps,  show  kind- 
hearted  Christians  how  best  to  help  those  whom 
they  long  to  benefit. 

I  would  it  were  possible  my  confession  of  the 
truth  could  abolish  forever  from  the  minds  of  my 
dear  people,  the  Jews,  the  utterly  erroneous  im¬ 
pression  that  Jewish  converts  to  Christianity  are 

7 


8 


preface: 


bought  and  paid  for  by  the  Christian  Church,  show¬ 
ing  in  a  measure,  at  least,  those  who  read  this 
sketch  what  it  still  costs  all  who  venture  to  become 
real  followers  of  Christ ;  proving  also  that  centuries 
of  time,  enlightenment,  education,  culture  and 
civilization  have  by  no  means  been  able  to  alter 
the  declaration  Jesus  made:  “  Whosoever  he  be  of 
you  that  forsaketh  not  all  that  he  hath,  he  cannot 
be  my  disciple.”  “  Yea,  and  all  that  will  live 
godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution.” 

Yours  in  the  Master’s  Name, 

Julius  H.  Abrams. 

East  Liverpool,  O. 


Contents 


» 


I. 

Birth  and  Early  Life  . 

•  • 

11 

II. 

Arrival  in  New  York  . 

•  • 

21 

III. 

Pastures  New  . 

•  • 

29 

IV. 

Removal  to  California  . 

•  • 

33 

V. 

Conversion  .... 

•  • 

39 

VI. 

Searching  the  Scriptures 

•  • 

47 

VII. 

Enduring  Persecution  . 

•  • 

60 

VIII. 

Storekeeping  in  the  Mojave  Desert 

75 

IX. 

Meeting  the  Salvation  Army 

•  • 

84 

X. 

Trials  and  Difficulties 

•  • 

94 

XI. 

Soul-Winning  Experiences  . 

•  • 

102 

XII. 

Joining  the  Salvation  Army 

•  • 

113 

XIII. 

First  Appointments  as  Officer 

•  • 

119 

XIV. 

Divine  Healing 

*  • 

130 

XV. 

Home  Ties  Broken — Cast  Off  by 

Parents . 

143 

10 


CONTENTS 


XVI.  Appeal  to  the  Church 
XVII.  Appeal  to  Israel 


Appendix  . 


I 


BIRTH  AND  EARLY  LIFE 

IN  relating  the  story  of  God’s  gracious  work 
upon  my  soul,  I  suppose  it  would  be  fitting 
to  give  the  reader  some  account  of  my  pedi¬ 
gree  and  bringing  up.  This,  I  believe,  will  advance 
and  magnify  tbe  bounty  and  goodness  of  God.  It 
will  also  furnish  proof  of  God’s  unfailing  faithful¬ 
ness  to  His  word,  that  “  He  raiseth  up  the  poor  of 
the  dust,  and  lifteth  up  the  beggar  from  the  dung¬ 
hill,  to  set  them  among  princes,  and  make  them 
inherit  the  throne  of  glory.” 

To  my  descent,  then,  I  have  nothing  to  boast  of 
on  this  score.  My  father’s  house  was  of  that  nation 
and  people  commonly  known  as  Jews,  a  race  still 
despised  by  all  other  nations.  Beside  coming  out 
of  this  stock,  my  people  were  all  poor.  Jews  gen¬ 
erally  are  accused  of  being  rich,  but  of  this 
accusation  my  ancestry  were  not  guilty.  All  things 
considered,  I  believe  my  pedigree  will  rather  tend 
to  magnify  the  heavenly  Majesty  since  He  saw  fit 
to  bring  me  by  this  door  into  the  world,  to  partake 
of  the  grace  and  the  life  that  is  in  Christ  by  the 
Gospel. 


ll 


12  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


For  eighteen  years  my  parents  lived  in  a  small 
country  place  called  Gross  Neudorf,  situated  near 
the  city  of  Bromberg,  in  the  Province  of  Posen, 
Germany.  Through  diligence,  thrift  and  strict 
economy,  my  parents  succeeded  in  acquiring  some 
land  which  they  worked  themselves,  and  in  addi¬ 
tion,  they  also  had  a  country  store.  By  this  means 
they  were  enabled  to  support  themselves  and  their 
family  of  eight  children. 

My  father  and  mother  were  strictly  orthodox  in 
their  religion,  in  all  their  mode  of  living  adhering 
zealously  to  the  traditions  of  the  teachings  of  the 
rabbis. 

All  food  used  in  our  home  had  to  he  strictly 
Kosher — clean.  Every  fowl  used  at  our  table  had 
to  he  taken  to  the  city  twenty  miles  distant  for 
killing,  as  there  was  no  one  in  the  vicinity  where 
we  lived  ordained  to  perform  this  duty  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  Jewish  custom. 

Neither  parents  nor  children  would  eat  any  food 
not  prepared  hy  Jews.  When  going  on  a  journey, 
my  father  would  take  his  own  lunch  with  him,  else 
he  would  go  hungry  rather  than  eat  food  cooked 
by  Gentiles. 

To  my  knowledge,  my  father  never  in  all  his 
life  ate  his  breakfast  without  first  performing  his 
regular  morning  worship  in  connection  with  his 
phylacteries.  The  Sabbath  day  was  always  strictly 
observed  at  home.  All  food  used  on  the  Sabbath 
was  always  prepared  the  day  before. 


BIRTH  AND  EARLY  LIFE 


13 


As  far  back  as  I  can  remember,  we  always  bad 
a  Gentile  girl  coming  to  the  bouse  on  the  Sabbath 
morning  to  kindle  the  fire,  as  none  of  us  were  ever 
allowed  to  touch  it. 

My  mother  was  a  great  mother.  I  did  not  real¬ 
ize  this  in  my  youth,  but  now  as  I  observe  the  con¬ 
duct  and  behaviour  of  girls  and  boys  in  the  world 
and  see  the  lack  of  respect  for  either  their  parents 
or  for  one  another,  and  the  utter  disregard  of  their 
moral  conduct,  I  thank  God  for  my  mother.  She 
watched  carefully  over  her  brood  like  a  hen 
watches  her  little  chicks.  She  took  as  much  care 
and  precaution  in  regard  to  the  morals  of  her  boys 
as  she  did  in  regard  to  those  of  her  girls. 

As  to  my  education,  this,  through  unavoidable 
circumstances,  had  to  be  neglected.  When  I  be¬ 
came  old  enough  to  attend  public  school  my  parents 
felt  that,  first  of  all,  I  ought  to  learn  Hebrew  so 
that  I  should  be  able  to  read  the  allotted  prayers 
and  the  Bible.  To  this  end  I  was  sent  to  one  of 
the  near-by  cities,  as  there  was  no  rabbi  or  teacher 
in  our  neighbourhood.  My  instructor  in  this  city 
was  a  rabbi  with  white  hair  and  yellow  beard.  I’ll 
never  forget  him,  he  made  such  a  deep  impression 
on  me  (that  is,  with  his  stick).  He  was  a  cross  old 
fellow,  always  out  of  humour.  I  feared  him  more 
than  I  did  a  kicking  mule.  My  eyes  troubled  me 
a  great  deal,  having  been  affected  from  childhood, 
and  objects  looked  “  double  ”  and  blurred  before 
me.  This  was  a  great  hindrance  to  me  in  my 


14 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


studies.  I  complained  to  the  rabbi  about  it,  and 
the  consolation  I  received  was  that  be  would  cure 
them  for  me  with  his  stick.  I  complained  to  my 
father  and  mother,  and  they  looked  at  my  eyes  but 
could  see  nothing  wrong  with  them.  Children  did 
not  wear  glasses  in  those  days,  only  old  people 
being  privileged  in  this  respect,  so  there  was  noth¬ 
ing  I  could  do  but  endure  my  trouble  patiently 
until  I  got  older.  I  was  helpless,  being  only  a 
little  over  seven  years  old  at  the  time. 

One  day  my  patience  gave  way.  It  was  on  a 
Jewish  holiday.  In  the  Synagogue,  I  sat  beside 
an  old  man  with  a  long  white  beard  who  used  eye¬ 
glasses,  for  reading  only.  I  was  very  curious  to 
know  just  what  those  glasses  were  like.  I  watched 
for  a  chance  to  try  them,  and  the  opportunity  soon 
came.  During  a  recess  in  the  service,  which  lasted 
all  day,  the  old  man  went  out  of  the  Synagogue  for 
a  breath  of  fresh  air  and  left  his  dirty,  brass- 
rimmed  glasses  behind  him  on  the  seat.  Here  was 
my  chance.  I  tried  them  on  and  found  the  effect 
to  be  most  wonderful.  They  magnified  everything 
to  double  its  natural  size.  I  could  not  only  see 
every  letter  plainly,  but  it  seemed  to  me  I  could 
almost  feel  them,  they  looked  so  large.  Here  was 
what  I  needed — a  perfect  fit.  I  at  once  hid  them 
away  carefully  under  some  seats  and  then  I,  also, 
went  out  for  an  airing.  When  he  returned  to  the 
Synagogue,  the  old  man  discovered  that  he  had  lost 
his  glasses.  After  searching  for  them  without  sue- 


BIRTH  AND  EARLY  LIFE 


15 


cess,  lie  decided  that  he  must  have  lost  them  while 
outside.  This  greatly  relieved  me. 

In  the  joy  of  my  gain,  I  was  not  much  con¬ 
cerned  about  the  old  man’s  loss.  I  was  very  happy 
in  the  thought  that  now  I  would  no  more  have  to 
rub  my  eyes  and  blink  trying  to  read,  and,  best 
of  all,  with  the  aid  of  these  glasses  I  would  more 
often  escape  the  rabbi’s  stick. 

The  next  day  I  went  to  school  with  my  glasses 
in  my  pocket,  thinking  happily  how  well  I  would 
now  be  able  to  see.  I  was  in  my  seat  that  morn¬ 
ing  a  little  earlier  than  usual,  and  I  immediately 
put  on  my  glasses  to  give  them  a  good  trial.  I 
found  them  a  little  large,  but  this  deficiency  was 
more  than  made  up  by  their  wonderful  magnifying 
quality.  I  tried  reading  with  them  and  they  an¬ 
swered  my  purpose  splendidly. 

By  and  by,  the  rabbi  came  in.  I  was  naturally 
a  little  uneasy  and  anxious  to  know  as  to  what 
would  transpire  within  the  next  few  hours.  I  had 
my  glasses  on  when  he  came  in.  I  was  afraid 
to  look  at  him  through  them  for,  so  far  as  I  was 
concerned,  he  was  big  enough  without  them,  so  I 
looked  over  them.  “  Where  did  you  get  those 
glasses?”  he  thundered.  For  a  moment,  my  heart 
failed  me,  nay,  I  think  it  left  me.  I  was  speech¬ 
less.  “  Those  are  my  brother’s  glasses,”  he  con¬ 
tinued,  “  he  lost  them  yesterday  in  the  Synagogue.” 
With  this  my  heart  returned,  I  began  to  breathe 
again.  I  saw  the  way  open  for  my  escape;  so  I 


16  OUT  QU  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


immediately  answered,  “  I  found  them/’  and  with¬ 
out  another  word  handed  the  glasses  over  to  the 
rabbi  with  a  great  sigh  of  relief.  Ever  since,  I 
have  felt  very  thankful  for  my  narrow  escape. 

Somehow  circumstances  were  favourable  to  me 
and  I  did  not  stay  long  at  this  school.  The  sani¬ 
tary  conditions  in  the  town  were  bad  beyond  de¬ 
scription.  I  was  used  to  fresh  air,  and  the  odour 
of  new-mown  hay,  instead  of  the  foul  air  and  foul 
smells  I  was  subjected  to  here.  I  became  very  ill, 
and  after  some  weeks  of  sickness,  I  remember  that 
my  parents  came  to  take  me  home.  They  had  the 
wagon  all  fixed  up  with  feather  beds,  and  had  to 
drive  very  slow  and  carefully,  for  I  was  so  weak. 
It  was  a  long,  tedious  journey  for  me.  I  felt,  how¬ 
ever,  during  that  journey  that  Fd  much  rather  be 
sick  and  be  at  home,  inhaling  the  pure  atmosphere 
of  the  country,  than  be  well  and  live  in  that  bad¬ 
smelling  city  with  the  cross  old  rabbi. 

After  recovery  from  my  sickness,  the  question 
again  came  up  of  my  attending  a  Hebrew  school. 
I  strongly  remonstrated  with  my  parents  against 
going  back  to  my  former  school.  My  parents 
finally  decided  I  should  go  to  another  city  where 
my  married  sister  then  resided.  Here  the  school 
was  better,  but  the  sanitary  conditions,  if  anything, 
were  worse.  The  city  being  built  on  salt,  all  the 
water  used  for  cooking,  or  drinking  purposes,  was 
brought  to  the  city  by  teams  in  large  water  tanks 
and  sold  to  the  consumers  at  so  much  a  pail.  Every 


BIRTH  AND  EARLY  LIFE 


IT 


family  had  a  storage  tank,  or  barrel,  and  the  driv¬ 
ers  of  the  water  wagons  kept  these  vessels  supplied. 
How  often  these  barrels  were  cleaned  I  would  not 
dare  to  vouch  for.  At  any  rate,  after  being  here 
about  a  year  I  again  became  very  ill,  and  again 
I  was  hauled  home  in  a  wagon  on  feather  beds. 
After  my  recovery,  this  time,  my  father  decided  to 
give  me  the  necessary  Hebrew  instruction  himself. 

How  began  my  public  school  career,  and  with  it, 
my  real  trouble.  I  had  always  been  aware  of  the 
fact  that  I  was  born  of  Hebrew  parentage,  but  in 
the  school  my  brothers  and  sisters  and  myself  were 
the  only  Jewish  children.  The  Christian  children 
soon  discovered  the  fact  that  we  were  Jews,  and 
they  evidently  feared  we  might  forget  it,  so  they 
continued  to  remind  us.  We  became  the  target  for 
their  abuse,  and  on  our  way  to  and  from  school 
we  were  kept  in  torment.  At  recess,  when  other 
children  enjoyed  their  play,  we  were  obliged  to 
keep  to  ourselves,  or  else  take  chances  of  being 
beaten.  Complaining  to  the  teacher  or  the  parents 
of  the  children  did  no  good.  That  only  made 
things  worse  for  us,  so  we  stopped  complaining  and 
endured  it  as  best  we  could.  On  Sundays,  when 
we  were  alone  at  home,  we  had  a  good  time  together 
all  by  ourselves,  and  thoroughly  enjoyed  it.  When 
the  church  bells  tolled  in  the  morning  and  the 
people  began  going  to  church,  my  mother  would 
always  call  us  in  the  house  until  after  the  services 
began.  If  we  were  found  outside,  playing,  when 


18 


OUT  Oi;  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


the  Christian  children  passed  by,  they  would  throw 
stones  and  call  ns  all  manner  of  pet  names,  not  very 
complimentary  to  Jews. 

When  the  time  came  for  me  to  quit  school  and 
to  go  to  work  at  something  in  order  to  support 
myself,  I  hailed  the  good  news  with  great  joy.  At 
the  age  of  thirteen  I  was  contracted  out  to  a  mer¬ 
chant  in  the  city  for  three  years,  to  learn  the  mer¬ 
cantile  business.  Here  I  had  to  rise  at  six  o’clock 
in  the  morning,  and  from  that  time  until  ten,  and 
often  eleven,  at  night,  I  was  kept  going  like  a 
steam  shovel.  And  no  pay,  mind  you ,  for  three 
years !  The  fourth  year,  so  the  contract  read,  if 
I  remained  with  the  firm,  I  would  receive  the  stipu¬ 
lated  sum  of  eighty-five  dollars. 

After  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  in  which  my 
brother  and  a  brother-in-law  served,  my  mother 
vowed  that  as  long  as  she  lived,  none  of  her  boys 
should  ever  again  serve  in  another  war,  for  what 
she  had  suffered  during  this  one.  Acting  on  this 
resolve,  my  mother  and  father  decided  that  before 
I  became  eligible  for  service  in  the  army,  I  had 
better  leave  the  country.  It  was  agreed,  therefore, 
that  as  soon  as  my  time  expired  with  this  business 
firm  that  I  go  to  that  wonderful  home  of  the  free, 
and  the  brave — America.  Having  already  many 
relatives  there,  this  seemed  to  be  the  proper  land 
to  which  I  should  emigrate. 

This  decision  of  my  parents  pleased  me  greatly 
for  many  reasons.  First,  because  I  would  have  a 


BIRTH  AND  EARLY  LIFE 


19 


chance  of  seeing  the  big  ocean  I  had  heard  so  much 
about.  Then  the  idea  of  actually  traveling  on  one 
of  those  monster  steamers  was  quite  inviting.  Best 
of  all,  however,  was  the  thought  of  going  to  a 
strange  country  where  no  one  would  know  I  was  a 
Jew.  Thus  (so  I  imagined)  I  would  forever 
escape  the  insults  and  persecutions  endured  at  home 
from  rude  German  boys,  and  my  expectations  for 
this  new  venture  rose  very  high. 

This  journey  to  America,  undertaken  in  the 
company  of  one  of  my  elder  sisters,  turned  out  to 
be  rather  tedious  after  all,  because  there  were  no 
trees  to  climb,  or  squirrels  to  chase.  After  four¬ 
teen  days,  under  trying  conditions  of  fog,  wind 
and  waves,  we  arrived  safely  at  our  destination. 
Our  relatives  in  New  Yrork  received  us  kindly,  and 
did  all  they  could  in  helping  us  to  get  settled  in 
our  new  surroundings,  for  which  I  am  still 
grateful. 

After  being  in  New  York  ten  days  (and,  of 
course,  not  being  familiar  with  the  English  lan¬ 
guage)  my  cousin,  one  day,  sent  me  on  an  errand. 
As  I  passed  a  group  of  boys  dancing  about  the 
street  corner,  I  noticed  them  looking  at  me  rather 
suspiciously.  Then,  in  a  loud  voice,  they  called 
out,  “  Rubenstein !  ”  I  wondered  at  this,  and  when 
I  returned  to  my  cousin  I  told  him  of  my  experi¬ 
ence  and  asked  for  an  explanation.  To  my  sur¬ 
prise  he  informed  me  that  there  was  a  Jew  in  the 
Tombs  Prison  in  New  lrork  condemned  for  mur- 


20 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


der.  His  name  was  Rubenstein,  and  because  of 
tbis  every  Jew  in  New  York  was  being  called 
Rubenstein.  I  was  horrified  at  this,  for  I  had  al¬ 
ways  heard  that  Americans  were  all  Christians  and 
not  like  the  Germans.  I  now  realized,  to  my  utter 
disgust,  that  so  far  as  my  escaping  persecution  was 
concerned,  my  coming  to  America  had  profited  me 
nothing. 


II 


ARRIVAL  IN  NEW  YORK 


M 


Y  sister  and  I  became  more  attached  to 
one  another  since  coming  to  America 
than  we  had  ever  been  before.  Here  we 


were  in  a  strange  land,  alone,  severed  from  home 
and  loved  ones  by  more  than  three  thousand  miles. 
Home  had  been  such  a  dear  place  to  us,  all  our 
childhood  being  spent  together  around  our  own 
fireside,  and  all  our  family  united  together  in  a 
sweet  bond  of  love.  On  account  of  our  race,  inter¬ 
course  with  strangers  was  limited.  We  were  not 
allowed  to  mingle  freely  with  Gentiles.  And  so 
our  home  was  all  in  all  to  us.  Now,  however,  we 
had  no  home.  Our  cousin  with  whom  we  stayed 
was  kind  to  us,  but  still  it  wasn’t  home. 

There  were  no  prayers  ever  said  in  the  house, 
and  no  Bible.  The  children  were  rude  and  dis¬ 
obedient  to  their  parents,  so  contrary  to  our  old 
home  life.  Theatres,  dancing  and  other  forms  of 
pleasure  absorbed  all  their  life.  This  almost  broke 
our  hearts.  When  my  sister  and  I  were  alone,  she 
would  often  say  with  tears  in  her  eyes :  “  They 
live  like  Goijim  ” — Gentiles.  We  felt  uncomfort¬ 
able  and  unhappy. 

We  would  take  long  walks  together  frequently 

21 


22  OUT  OP  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


and  talk  over  our  new  conditions  in  life.  In  our 
lonely  hours  we  would  try  and  comfort  one  another 
as  best  we  could.  Being  a  hoy,  I  soon  became 
familiar  with  the  streets  of  the  city,  and  the  places 
of  interest  and  was  able  to  take  my  sister  about, 
all  of  which  was  new  and  interesting  to  her.  This 
gave  me  great  pleasure,  because  it  made  her 
happy. 

At  the  dinner  table  at  the  home  of  my  cousin  one 
day,  I  asked  what  the  word  “  paint  ”  meant  in  the 
German  language,  and  they  told  me.  Then  they 
asked  me  why  I  wanted  to  know,  and  I  said  every 
time  I  go  out  with  Johanna,  my  sister,  I  hear  the 
boys  standing  about  the  street  talking  about  “  paint.” 
At  this,  the  children  about  the  table  with  one  ac¬ 
cord  all  burst  into  loud  laughter. 

This  made  me  more  curious  than  ever.  Then 
they  told  me,  that  because  of  my  sister’s  rosy 
cheeks,  the  boys  believed  she  was  painting  her  face. 
I  thought  that  was  horrid.  The  poor  girl  never 
saw  either  paint  or  powder  such  as  women  use, 
and  besides,  we  were  told  at  home  that  only  bad 
women  used  paint  and  powder  for  their  faces.  My 
sister  did  not  have  to  resort  to  artificial  adornment. 
Nature  had  endowed  her  with  a  beauty  all  her  own. 
Her  colour  was  natural.  Her  rosy  cheeks  had  de¬ 
veloped  like  the  blush  on  the  apple  in  the  tree. 
Plenty  of  fresh  air,  hard  work,  and  the  simplest 
diet  were  the  sources  of  our  healthy  condition  and 
robust  constitutions. 


ARRIVAL  IN  NEW  YORK 


23 


My  sister’s  rosy  cheeks  developed  in  walking  be¬ 
hind  the  plow,  planting  potatoes,  raking  hay,  har¬ 
vesting  the  rye  and  barley  in  their  season.  Every 
one  of  my  five  sisters  worked  in  the  field  like  the 
men.  They  milked  the  cows,  churned  the  butter, 
fixed  the  beds  for  the  stock  at  night  and  got  up  at 
five  o’clock  in  the  morning,  and  everyone  of  them 
had  cheeks  like  roses.  I  never  remember  any  of 
them  being  sick  or  complaining. 

What  surprised  us  when  landing  in  New  York 
was  the  delicate,  white,  sickly-looking  girls  we  saw. 
We  thought  that  they  had  either  just  come  out  of 
hospital  or  else  were  on  their  way  there.  How¬ 
ever,  that  word  “  paint  ”  stuck  to  me  and  had  a 
bad  effect.  I  became  ashamed  of  my  sister,  and 
for  some  weeks  failed  to  take  her  out  anywhere, 
and  she  soon  realized  it.  She  had  heard  about 
Coney  Island  and  its  wonderful  attractions  and 
was  anxious  to  see  the  place.  One  day  she  came 
to  me  dressed  all  ready  to  go  out,  with  a  heavy 
veil  over  her  face,  saying :  “  I  want  you  to  go  to 
Coney  Island  with  me.  But  you  need  not  be 
ashamed  of  me  now;  I  have  my  face  covered.”  Of 
course,  I  went  with  her. 

The  question  of  our  support  became  a  serious 
problem.  The  little  money  we  had  dwindled.  My 
cousin,  though  very  kind,  could  ill  afford  to  keep 
us,  as  he  was  a  poor  man  and  had  a  family  of  five 
children  to  support.  My  sister,  however,  soon  ob¬ 
tained  a  very  pleasant  position  with  a  Jewish  lady 


24  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


who  had  two  grown  sons  in  business  away  from 
home,  and  she,  being  alone,  wanted  a  companion. 
This  just  suited  my  sister.  Here  she  stayed  until 
she  got  married,  which  was  two  years  later. 

With  me,  however,  things  did  not  fare  so  well. 
Ho  place  could  be  found  where  I  could  fit  in.  My 
greatest  trouble  was  a  lack  of  knowledge  of  the 
language.  After  trying,  looking  and  feeling  in 
every  direction  for  suitable  employment  without 
definite  results,  I  heard  there  were  thousands  of 
young  people  in  Hew  York  supporting  themselves 
by  making  cigarettes,  and  that  for  this  business  an 
acquaintance  with  the  English  language  was  not  re¬ 
quired.  I  was  told  that  for  the  sum  of  fifteen  dol¬ 
lars  I  could  learn  the  business  in  two  weeks,  and 
that  in  six  weeks’  time  I  could  earn  fifteen  to  eigh¬ 
teen  dollars  weekly.  Here  was  my  opportunity.  I 
started  at  once,  with  results  following  such  as  had 
been  told  me.  This  business  answered  two  good 
purposes.  For  one  thing  it  was  a  good  school  for 
me  in  which  to  learn  English,  such  as  it  was,  and, 
secondly,  it  enabled  me  to  become  self-supporting. 
But  there  was  also  a  bad  side  to  it.  Becoming 
separated  from  my  sister  wasn’t  good  for  me,  and 
the  new  associations  I  was  thrown  into  weren’t 
good  for  me  either. 

I  was  soon  earning  more  money  than  was  neces¬ 
sary  for  my  support,  and  not  being  used  to  handling 
money,  it  became  a  snare  to  me.  I  soon  became  a 
target  for  all  kinds  of  temptation.  It  wasn’t  long 


ARRIVAL  IN  NEW  YORK 


25 


before  I,  likewise,  laid  aside  my  sacred  phylacteries, 
the  accustomed  daily  prayers,  together  with  all  the 
other  J ewish  forms  and  ceremonies,  and  fell  in  line 
with  the  life  of  other  American  Jews.  Leaving 
God  out  of  the  reckoning  entirely,  I  gave  myself 
up  to  the  stream  of  worldly  pleasure-seekers,  and 
was  soon  caught  in  the  whirl  of  excitement  and 
carried  along  with  the  multitude. 

Goijim — Gentile — associations,  which  before  were 
repulsive  and  offensive  to  me  were  now  sought 
after,  and  enjoyed.  I  found  Gentiles  were  more 
liberal,  freer  and  easier  in  sport  and  frolic  than 
were  the  Jews.  Soon,  my  associates,  both  boys  and 
girls,  were  mostly  all  Gentiles.  Our  life  flowed 
together  in  one  channel,  I  hardly  ever  realized 
there  was  any  difference  between  us. 

Before  long  the  very  thought  of  religion  became 
irksome  to  me;  I  could  neither  endure  it  myself, 
nor  desired  any  other  person  should.  On  Jewish 
feast-days,  when  our  people  assemble  in  their 
Synagogues  or  other  places  to  observe  the  accus¬ 
tomed  holidays,  I  avoided  even  passing  such  places 
of  worship.  On  ihe  day  of  Yom  Kippur — the  Day 
of  Atonement — the  most  sacred  of  all  days  to  every 
Jew,  I  gave  myself  up  to  do  the  most  sacrilegious 
acts  imaginable. 

I  soon  learned  to  speak  English,  and  also  to  read 
and  write  it.  And,  oh,  yes,  I  was  now  old  enough  to 
have  eye-glasses,  properly  fitted  by  an  optician,  and 
they  have  been  a  great  comfort  to  me  ever  since. 


26  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


I  had  a  great  love  for  reading — there  was  so 
much  I  didn’t  know.  The  library  was  full  of  the 
best  books  and  of  all  kinds  of  information.  I  read 
some  good  books,  and  could  have  laid  up  in  store 
the  very  best  of  truth  and  knowledge,  had  my  mind 
been  directed  in  the  right  channel.  Instead,  how¬ 
ever,  I  became  interested  in  infidelity  and  the  most 
of  my  reading  tended  in  this  direction.  Bob  In- 
gersoll,  Tom  Paine,  Voltaire,  and  the  like  became 
my  heroes. 

In  addition  to  this,  I  sank  deeper  and  deeper  into 
sin  and  folly.  As  I  became  older,  the  theatre, 
music  and  song  failed  to  fill  the  bill;  they  did  not 
satisfy.  I  was  told  by  more  experienced  young 
men  that  to  complete  the  life  of  pleasure,  one  must 
know  how  to  dance,  and  how  to  dance  well.  With 
that  accomplishment  as  stock-in-trade,  nothing  was 
impossible. 

I  at  once  looked  up  the  best  and  most  prominent 
dancing  school  in  Hew  York  and  began  operations. 
I  learned  to  dance,  and  to  dance  well.  This  be¬ 
came  so  fascinating  and  enticing  that  it  kept  me 
going  almost  day  and  night,  hut  positively  every 
night.  I  soon  became  very  proficient  and  had 
pupils  of  my  own. 

A  dancing  school,  by  the  way,  is  the  devil’s  ele¬ 
mentary  grade  for  the  ruination  of  young  women. 
Hot  that  all  girls  who  dance  go  to  the  devil,  but 
many  thousands  of  girls  would  not  have  gone  to 
the  devil  had  they  stayed  away  from  this  tempta- 


ARRIVAL  IN  NEW  YORK 


27 


tion.  One  who  knows  has  said :  “  Can  a  man  take 
fire  in  his  bosom,  and  his  clothes  not  he  burned  ?  ” 

Myself  and  two  other  young  men  once  vowed 
that  we  would  dance  until  we  dropped  on  the  floor. 
Both  of  these  boys  died  of  hasty  consumption,  con¬ 
tracted  from  dancing,  and  passed  away  within  a 
few  days  of  each  other.  I  escaped,  only  by  heed¬ 
ing  the  warning  of  a  sensible  physician. 

As  for  my  own  natural  life,  during  the  time  that 
I  was  without  God  in  the  world,  it  was  indeed  “  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  course  of  this  world,  and  the  spirit 
that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience.” 
It  was  my  delight  to  he  “  taken  captive  by  the  devil 
at  his  will,”  being  filled  with  all  unrighteousness, 
wickedness  and  sin. 

I  prospered  at  the  cigarette  business,  my  wages 
increased,  and  my  pleasures  increased  in  propor¬ 
tion.  After  being  with  my  firm  about  three  years, 
the  proprietors  surprised  me  one  day  by  informing 
me  that  I  had  been  chosen  to  he  assistant  foreman 
with  an  increase  of  salary.  But  earning  more 
money  only  meant  more  to  spend.  One  day  my 
cup  was  full — I  had  been  meditating  upon  my  life, 
reflecting  upon  my  career,  I  saw  it  was  nothing  hut 
a  soap  bubble.  To  remain  in  New  York  meant 
gradual  suicide.  Without  a  word  to  anyone  I  be¬ 
came  missing.  I  had  fully  decided  to  go  to  some 
place  where  no  one  knew  me,  and  where  in  turn 
I  knew  no  one. 

On  the  map  I  found  Akron,  Ohio.  I  knew  noth- 


28  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


ing  about  Akron,  but  somehow  the  name  appealed 
to  me.  I  went  to  the  depot  and  bought  my  ticket 
for  that  city. 

The  journey  to  Akron  was  really  longer  than  I 
had  expected.  I  was  glad,  however,  for  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  being  alone  and  quiet. 

My  life  in  New  York  had  been  one  continuous 
whirl  of  excitement,  out  of  one  thing  into  another. 
I  had  hardly  time  to  eat,  and  never  took  time  to 
sleep. 

It  was  not  unusual  to  come  home  from  a  dance 
at  an  early  morning  hour,  wash,  change  clothes,  eat 
breakfast,  work  during  the  day  and  then  at  night 
go  to  another  dance  without  sleeping. 

I  remember  coming  home  one  Saturday  morning 
at  six  o’clock  and  after  eating  a  light  breakfast  I 
went  to  bed ;  when  I  woke  up  it  was  dark.  I  natu¬ 
rally  thought  that  it  was  Saturday  night,  but  to  my 
great  surprise  I  found  that  it  was  Sunday,  eight 
o’clock  in  the  evening.  I  could  hardly  realize  that 
I  had  actually  slept  38  hours  without  waking. 

Don’t  you  think  it  was  time  I  had  come  to  my¬ 
self  ?  While  on  the  train  I  reflected  on  my  sin  and 
folly  with  shame. 


Ill 


PASTURES  NEW 

ON  my  arrival  at  Akron,  I  picked  up  a  local 
paper  and  in  the  want  ads  noticed  that 
the  Hotel  Sumner  wanted  a  night-clerk. 
I  immediately  called  on  the  proprietor,  told  him 
my  story,  showed  him  my  credentials,  and  secured 
the  position.  This  was  the  turning  point  in  my 
life,  the  switch  at  which  the  entire  course  of  my 
future  was  changed. 

When  I  left  the  Hotel  Sumner  I  engaged  with 
a  clothing  firm  as  salesman,  and  in  this  business 
I  remained  for  many  years.  When  I  had  been  in 
Akron  about  three  years,  I  became  possessed  by  a 
great  desire  to  see  other  parts  of  the  country.  I 
was  living  in  a  new  world  and  here  I  intended  to 
make  my  future  home,  and  I  wanted  to  get  better 
acquainted  with  the  country  and  its  people. 

On  learning  my  intentions,  and  knowing  the 
difficulties  a  stranger  would  be  likely  to  encounter, 
my  friends  were  anxious  that  I  be  supplied  with 
proper  credentials,  and  they  very  kindly  secured 
for  me  a  letter  of  identification  from  Mr.  W.  H. 
Miller,  the  mayor  of  the  city,  and  also  from  Mr. 

W.  B.  Gamble,  the  postmaster.  These  letters,  with 

29 


30 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


those  secured  from  my  employers,  served  me  well. 
I  had  no  trouble  whatever  in  securing  employment, 
anywhere. 

I  enjoyed  traveling,  and  the  novelty  of  shifting 
scenes  and  changing  places.  Besides,  the  coming 
in  contact  with  all  manner  of  people  under  differ¬ 
ent  conditions  of  life  proved  a  great  means  of  edu¬ 
cation  to  me.  My  school  was  practical  experience 
and  in  it  I  learned  many  valuable  lessons. 

I  soon  discovered,  however,  that  no  matter  how 
far  away  I  traveled  from  Akron,  my  heart  re¬ 
mained  there.  The  reason  for  this  was  “  a  little 
girl.”  During  my  stay  there,  I  formed  the  ac¬ 
quaintance  of  a  young  girl,  then  but  sixteen  years  of 
age.  During  my  absence  a  correspondence  began 
between  us,  which  continued  for  seven  years.  Dur¬ 
ing  this  time  we  became  thoroughly  acquainted 
and  I  might  add,  much  attached  to  one  another. 
When  marriage  was  suggested  it  did  not  in  the 
least  surprise  either  of  us,  but  it  was  not  until  that 
point  had  been  reached  that  I  fully  realized  that 
this  young  lady  was  a  Gentile,  and  knowing  the 
feeling  of  opposition  on  the  part  of  my  people  in 
the  matter,  I  hesitated  for  some  time  to  act.  I  saw, 
however,  that  waiting  did  not  change  the  attitude 
of  my  people,  nor  did  the  lapse  of  time  alter  my 
affection  for  the  girl,  so  there  was  no  alternative 
but  to  marry. 

After  a  happy  union  of  two  years,  my  wife  one 
day  came  to  me  with  the  astonishing  news  that  she 


PASTURES  NEW 


31 


desired  to  embrace  the  Hebrew  religion,  giving  as 
her  reason  that  she  did  not  expect  to  live  on  eartb 
forever,  and  that  as  long  as  she  lived,  sbe  desired 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  sbe  worshipped 
my  God;  in  so  doing  she  hoped,  also,  to  be  with 
me  in  tbe  after  life.  Being  moreover  at  this  time 
expecting  shortly  to  become  a  mother,  she  added 
that  she  desired  likewise  that  our  children  should 
be  reared  in  the  Jewish  faith. 

This  greatly  surprised  me,  as  I  did  not  know  of 
any  God  I  really  worshipped,  nor  of  any  place  I 
would  be  after  this  life  was  over.  I  tried  my  best 
to  discourage  my  wife  taking  this  step,  for  it 
seemed  to  me  unnecessary  and  entirely  uncalled 
for,  as  at  that  time  I  was  wholly  indifferent  toward 
religion  and  had  no  hope  beyond  the  grave.  She, 
however,  was  determined  to  carry  out  her  inten¬ 
tion,  and  in  order  to  gratify  her  wishes,  I  consulted 
Dr.  Wasserman,  the  Jewish  rabbi,  and  he  informed 
me  that  while  the  Jewish  people  do  not  seek  prose¬ 
lytes,  yet  if  one  of  another  faith  is  desirous  of 
professing  their  faith,  he  is  accepted  on  the  sole 
conditions  that  he  become  thoroughly  conversant 
with  the  ancient  law  and  customs  of  the  race.  I 
arranged  with  him  at  once  to  give  my  wife  the 
necessary  instruction,  and  after  three  months’ 
training,  the  rabbi  found  her  qualified.  It  was 
found  also  necessary  that  we  conform  with  Jewish 
rites  in  our  marriage,  and,  accordingly,  were  re¬ 
married  by  the  rabbi  in  the  Temple  at  Akron, 


32  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


Ohio,  where  we  then  resided.  When  our  boy  was 
bom,  we  arranged  for  the  ordinance  of  circum¬ 
cision  in  accordance  with  the  Jewish  law  and  cus¬ 
toms.  When  eight  days  old  the  child  was  circum¬ 
cised. 

True  to  my  wife’s  newly  acquired  obligations  as 
a  Jewess,  she  tried  her  best  to  fulfill  all  that  was 
required.  She  most  faithfully  attended  the  ser¬ 
vices  of  the  Synagogue.  She  bought  from  Jewish 
butchers  only,  assuring  herself  beforehand  that  the 
meat  was  duly  marked  by  the  seal  of  the  rabbi  as 
“  Kosher,”  and  in  accordance  with  the  Hebrew 
custom  she  soaked  and  salted  all  meats  before 
cooking  them.  She  was  most  conscientious  in  ob¬ 
serving  all  our  various  Fasts  and  Festivals;  and 
rigidly  kept  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  using 
throughout  the  week  only  unleavened  bread. 

“  Yom  Kippur,”  that  great  day  of  Atonement, 
in  which  the  Hebrews  confess  their  sins  openly  be¬ 
fore  God  in  the  Synagogue,  was  carefully  observed 
by  her.  We  fasted  during  the  day,  reading  the 
prayers  allotted  to  it  in  the  Jewish  ritual,  and  it 
was  the  same  with  “Posh  Hashana,”  which  of  all 
days  in  the  Jewish  calendar,  is  to  every  Jew  the 
dearest,  being  as  it  is,  the  Jewish  Yew  Year. 


IV 

REMOVAL  TO  CALIFORNIA 

AETER  two  years,  owing  to  my  wife’s  ill 
health,  a  physician  strongly  advised  our 
going  to  a  warmer  climate.  Being  anx¬ 
ious  to  bring  about  a  speedy  recovery,  I  resigned 
my  position  at  once  and  we  went  to  San  Francisco, 
where  our  second  boy  was  born.  Unfortunately  we 
arrived  during  the  rainy  season,  and,  much  to  our 
discomfort,  we  were  compelled  to  go  further  south, 
moving  about  from  place  to  place,  eventually  set¬ 
tling  in  San  Bernardino. 

I  was  now  in  my  thirty-fifth  year,  and  up  to  this 
time  had  mercifully  escaped  any  serious  loss  either 
of  fortune  or  kindred;  but  now  all  was  to  be 
changed. 

I  had  formed  almost  an  idolatrous  affection  for 
my  youngest  boy,  a  lovely,  bright  little  child  of 
four,  who  up  to  that  time  had  enjoyed  excellent 
health.  One  morning,  however,  he  appeared  to  be 
very  ill  and  immediately  I  sent  for  a  physician. 
No  improvement  in  the  child’s  condition  being 
effected  in  several  weeks,  I  became  seriously 
alarmed,  and  calling  in  another  physician  for  con¬ 
sultation,  I  learned  to  my  horror  and  grief  that 

33 


34  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


owing  to  an  error  in  diagnosis,  a  fatal  mastoid  ab¬ 
scess  at  the  root  of  the  brain  bad  been  allowed  to 
go  unchecked,  and,  in  consequence,  my  precious 
child  could  not  possibly  live  longer  than  twenty- 
four  hours. 

I  was  utterly  distracted  and  never  left  him  until, 
in  a  few  hours,  he  passed  away  in  my  arms.  The 
shock  proved  almost  fatal.  I  was  beside  myself 
with  grief.  I  vainly  appealed  to  the  Almighty  to 
take  me  also,  and  for  weeks  remained  in  a  state  of 
comparative  apathy,  doing  my  work  half  con¬ 
sciously  and  mechanically. 

Through  this  period  of  sorrow  and  grief  my 
stony  heart  became  softened  and  I  earnestly  sought 
relief  in  prayer.  How  true  it  is  that  “  God  moves 
in  a  mysterious  way,  His  wonders  to  perform !  ” 
In  this  particular  instance,  a  simple  washerwoman 
became  the  instrument  of  leading  my  wife  to  a 
knowledge  of  Christ,  and  eventually  through  her 
I,  myself,  became  a  Christian.  Our  conversion 
came  about  in  the  following  manner:  This  good 
woman  knowing  our  lost  condition  without  Christ, 
took  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to  drop  the 
good  seed.  Her  zealous  efforts  for  our  conversion 
became  so  aggravating  to  my  wife  that  she  said  to 
me  one  day:  “  We  shall  have  to  forbid  this  woman 
coming  to  the  house.”  I  said,  “  Why  ?  ” — for  she 
was  an  excellent  worker  and  most  kind.  u  Oh,” 
replied  my  wife  angrily,  “  she  never  comes  near 
me  now  without  bringing  in  her  Christ  and  His  re- 


REMOVAL  TO  CALIFORNIA 


35 


ligion,  and  I  am  heartily  sick  of  the  whole  busi¬ 
ness.” 

This,  of  course,  appeared  to  be  most  officious, 
and  unwarranted,  and,  seeing  how  seriously  my 
wife  took  the  matter,  I  tried  to  console  her,  with¬ 
out  having  to  lose  the  woman.  I  therefore  sug¬ 
gested  that  in  future  we  treat  her  with  indifference, 
letting  her  plainly  understand  that  we  were  Jews, 
and  did  not  care  to  know  anything  about  her  Christ 
or  His  religion.  The  next  day  my  wife  tried  the 
experiment,  but  this  kind  woman,  already  meek 
and  gentle,  became  only  more  so. 

After  several  weeks  had  elapsed  my  wife  said 
to  me  one  day :  “  Do  you  know,  dear,  I  did  this 
woman  a  great  injustice  in  treating  her  unkindly? 
She  is  the  most  beautiful  Christian  character  I 
ever  met.  This  woman  knows  God.”  The  changed 
attitude  of  my  wife  rather  surprised  me.  For 
some  time  past  I  had  noticed  that  the  Jewish  form 
of  religion  did  not  supply  the  comfort  she  had  ex¬ 
pected  it  to  supply.  At  times  she  appeared  rather 
depressed,  although  she  never  complained.  Now, 
however,  she  appeared  restful,  satisfied,  and  happy. 
In  some  way  I  felt,  intuitively,  that  there  was 
something  on  her  mind  which  she  longed  to  tell 
me,  and  waiting  a  favourable  opportunity,  I  ques¬ 
tioned  her  as  to  what  it  was.  She  immediately 
opened  her  heart,  and  to  my  astonishment  told  me 
that  through  the  life  and  testimony  of  this  woman 
she  had  found  Christ  as  her  personal  Saviour, 


36  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


adding  that  if  she  could  only  unite  with  a  church, 
her  happiness  would  he  complete.  As  I  cared  only 
for  her  happiness,  I  told  her  by  all  means  to  do 
so.  Yet  her  face  remained  troubled  and  sad,  and 
with  tear-filled  eyes,  and  a  tremor  in  her  voice,  she 
said.  “  But  that  is  not  all  I  wanted  to  say.’7 

“  Well,”  I  said,  “  what  is  the  rest?  ” 

“  Oh,”  she  replied,  “  I  do  so  want  you  to  join 
the  church  with  me.” 

“  What,”  I  answered,  “  I  join  a  Christian 
church?  Never!  I  was  born  and  raised  a  Jew, 
and  Ull  die  one.” 

“  I  do  not  care  to  join  a  church  alone,”  my  wife 
returned;  “your  God  is  my  God,  and  my  Christ 
ought  to  be  your  Christ,  and  then  when  we  die  we 
shall  be  where  He  is,  for  there  is  also  our  home. 
I  want  you  to  be  where  I  am,  and  you  cannot  un¬ 
less  we  both  believe  in  Christ.” 

“  These  eight  years  we  have  lived  happily  to¬ 
gether  without  our  religious  views  conflicting,  so 
do  not  let  us  permit  our  peace  to  be  disturbed 
now,”  was  my  answer.  “No,  our  peace  shall  not 
be  disturbed,”  she  replied  calmly,  “  but  I  shall  con¬ 
tinue  to  pray  earnestly  for  your  conversion  until 
God  hears  my  prayer.” 

No  more  was  said  about  this  matter  for  some 
weeks,  but  it  did  not  end  there.  The  impossibility 
of  my  ever  becoming  a  Christian  seemed  to  grow 
upon  me  every  day. 

At  this  juncture,  also,  there  came  before  me  many 


REMOVAL  TO  CALIFORNIA 


37 


things  I  had  suffered  in  childhood  on  account  of 
my  being  born  of  Jewish  parents.  This  had  never 
entirely  left  my  memory.  I  saw  myself  again  as 
a  little  hoy  in  far-off  Germany,  going  to  school 
with  my  little  sister  by  my  side.  At  this  school 
we  were  the  only  Jewish  children,  and  on  that  ac¬ 
count  became  subject  to  attack  and  ridicule  by  the 
supposedly  Christian  children.  Often  on  our  way 
to  and  from  school  they  howled  all  manner  of  in¬ 
famy  at  us,  frequently  beating  us  and  sending  us 
home  crying,  for  no  other  reason  or  offense  than 
that  we  were  Jews.  When  the  question  of  becom¬ 
ing  a  Christian  agitated  my  mind,  another  occur¬ 
rence,  which  had  made  a  deep  impression  on  me 
in  my  youth,  came  before  me  like  a  frightful  night¬ 
mare.  My  parents,  at  this  time,  kept  a  country 
store  beside  a  public  highway.  One  night  while 
my  father  was  getting  things  ready  to  leave  home 
early  the  next  morning  to  go  to  the  city  where 
there  was  a  Synagogue,  in  order  to  observe  the 
Jewish  new  year,  there  came  suddenly  a  loud  rap 
at  the  door,  with  a  demand  to  open.  On  my  father 
refusing  to  comply  with  the  request,  the  door  was 
broken  in  and  six  men  under  the  influence  of 
drink,  entered,  and  while  some  began  helping 
themselves  with  what  merchandise  was  nearest,  the 
others  began  beating  my  father  with  their  fists  and 
heavy  canes,  crying,  “  Kill  the  Jew!” 

My  mother’s  screams  for  help  aroused  the  whole 
household,  and  soon  five  of  us  little  ones  were  down 


38  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


from  our  sleeping  apartments  in  our  night  cloth¬ 
ing,  terribly  frightened,  trembling  and  screaming, 
while  these  murderous  men  were  unmercifully 
beating  my  father,  who  was  entirely  helpless  in 
their  grasp,  his  body  and  face  being  covered  with 
blood.  Not  until  they  had  fully  satisfied  their 
bloodthirsty  appetites,  did  they  leave  off  beating 
him.  Then  they  departed,  whistling  as  they  went. 

My  parents  knew  these  men,  brought  suit  against 
them,  and  they  were  tried  before  a  justice  of  the 
peace.  At  the  trial,  however,  they  produced  ample 
witnesses,  proving  their  good  moral,  Christian 
characters  before  the  court,  and  thus  cleared  them¬ 
selves  of  their  guilt  and  scored  another  victory 
over  the  Jew.  Experiences  of  this  character  may 
not  appear  as  very  important  to  people  who  are  not 
Jews.  But  to  the  people  of  this  ancient  race,  they 
form  almost  insurmountable  obstacles  to  their  be¬ 
coming  Christians,  and  my  case  was  no  exception 
to  the  rule. 

The  more  I  reflected  upon  the  matter,  the  more 
it  seemed  to  me  impossible  ever  to  become  a  Chris¬ 
tian.  I  felt  then,  as  every  Jew,  in  all  the  so-called 
Christian  lands,  at  least,  feels,  that  every  one  who 
is  not  a  Jew  is  a  Christian — irrespective  of  whether 
he  goes  to  church,  or  without  thought  as  to  what 
church  he  may  attend. 


Y 


COHVEBSIOH 

THE  great  struggle — the  awful  conflict — I 
passed  through  in  my  own  mind  at  this 
time,  is  indescribable.  Again  and  again, 
the  question  arose  before  me,  “  How  can  I  ignore 
my  Jewish  birth;  forsake  parents,  brothers,  sisters, 
and  all  my  Jewish  friends  and  acquaintances  and 
affiliate  with  a  people  who,  as  I  supposed,  were  the 
enemies  of  our  race  %  ”  The  idea  appalled  me. 

One  night  I  said  indignantly  to  my  wife :  “  How 
could  you  ever  dream  of  asking  me  to  become  a 
Christian ?  ”  “I  am  still  praying  for  you,  dear,” 
she  calmly  answered,  “  and  if  it  is  God’s  will,  Ho 
will  make  it  all  plain  to  you.” 

My  wife  was  ill  at  this  time,  and,  after  waiting 
on  her,  I  left  her  bedside  about  three  o’clock  one 
morning,  returning  to  my  bed  saying  resentfully 
to  myself :  “  You  may  pray  all  you  like,  it  will 
never  do  you  any  good,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned. 
I  was  born  and  raised  a  Jew  and  I  shall  die  one.” 

Suddenly  (sleeping  or  waking,  I  cannot  say)  it 
seemed  to  me  I  sat  in  front  of  a  table  upon  which 
lay  an  open  Bible  with  an  unusually  bright  light 

shining  upon  its  pages.  I  read  this  one  verse: 

39 


40 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


“  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  in  the 
image  of  God  created  he  him;  male  and  female 
created  he  them.”  After  carefully  reading  this 
verse  over  several  times,  I  closed  the  Bible,  and 
gave  myself  to  earnest  meditation  and  reflection, 
attempting,  if  possible,  to  solve  the  problem  before 
me,  going  over  it  in  my  mind  line  by  line.  “  So 
God  created  man  ” — these  first  few  words  seemed 
to  knock  the  props  from  under  my  preconceived 
notion  that  Jews  were  a  sort  of  superior  creation. 
I  saw,  for  the  first  time,  God  created  “  man  ” ; 
not  “  Jews,”  that  before  God  I  was  no  better  than 
anyone  else.  “  He  created  man  ”  and  He  “  created 
him  in  his  own  image  ” — “  Then,”  thought  I,  “  ac¬ 
cording  to  His  intended  purpose  my  life  ought  to 
reflect  God  in  the  attributes  consistent  with  His 
divine  nature,  such  as  love,  mercy,  truth,  holiness, 
long  suffering  and  gentleness.” 

Taking  a  retrospective  view  of  my  own  life  in 
comparison,  I  saw  how  utterly  depraved  I  was.  As 
the  beauties  of  a  life  consistent  with  God’s  divine 
nature  arose  before  me,  an  intense  craving  seized 
me  for  such  a  life.  In  my  distress  I  cried  out, 
“  Oh,  how  could  I  live  that  kind  of  a  life  in  this 
wicked  world  ?  ”  And  the  answer  came,  audible, 
clear  and  strong,  “  Live  the  life  of  Christ !  ” 

At  the  sound  of  the  voice  I  looked  up,  and  to  my 
surprise  it  appeared  as  though  Christ  stood  before 
me  in  spotless  white.  I  stretched  out  my  hands 
in  an  attempt  to  detain  Him,  as  He  seemed  to 


CONVERSION 


41 


move  from  me,  but  His  robe  was  as  vapour  and 
passed  through  my  fingers.  When  the  vision  left 
me  I  gradually  came  to  and  found  myself  in  bed 
with  my  hands  still  outstretched  and  with  an  in¬ 
tense,  unsatisfied  hunger  in  my  soul  for  the  life 
of  Christ.  As  soon  as  I  was  sufficiently  aroused, 
I  went  to  the  bedside  of  my  wife  and  told  her  that 
henceforth  I  would  be  a  Christian  and  that  I  would 
join  the  church  on  the  following  Sunday.  With  an 
expression  of  joy  and  wonder,  she  asked:  “My 
dear,  why  have  you  changed  your  mind  so  sud¬ 
denly  when  only  last  night  you  said  that  it  was  im¬ 
possible  for  you  ever  to  be  a  Christian  ?  ”  My 
recent  experience  seemed  too  sacred  to  rehearse.  I 
simply  said  that  a  vital  change  had  taken  place  in 
my  feelings  since  the  night  before. 

The  next  morning  I  went  to  the  store  as  usual, 
attended  to  my  duties  in  business,  but  the  world 
appeared  to  me  in  a  new  light.  A  great  change 
had  taken  place,  an  unsatisfied  hunger  possessed 
me  to  learn  more  of  the  life  of  Christ.  During  the 
day,  whatever  I  did,  or  in  whatever  direction  I 
looked,  I  seemed  to  see  Christ.  When  I  got  home 
in  the  evening,  the  first  thing  I  looked  for  was  the 
New  Testament  which  I  had  formerly  despised, 
and  wishing  now  to  know  all  about  the  life  of 
Christ,  I  eagerly  devoured  page  after  page,  as  a 
hungry  man  devours  food,  every  page  giving  me 
new  hope,  and  new  joy. 

When  Sunday  came  I  called  on  Mr.  Taylor,  the 


42  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  which  my 
wife  had  previously  joined,  and  requested  to  be 
taken  in  as  a  member,  which  request  was  duly 
granted,  after  an  examination  by  the  Session. 
Having  united  with  the  Church,  I  tried  my  best  to 
live  a  Christian  life  and,  as  far  as  I  understood 
Christianity,  thought  I  was  doing  well,  knowing 
only  what  I  had  seen  casually  of  those  about  me 
who  claimed  to  be  Christians,  I  attended  the 
church  services  regularly;  this,  I  thought,  was  my 
whole  duty.  My  conscience,  however,  troubled  me, 
as  my  life  during  the  week  sadly  lacked  in  measur¬ 
ing  up  to  the  Christ  life,  as  revealed  in  the  Hew 
Testament.  I  tried  to  excuse  my  weaknesses  and 
console  myself  with  the  imperfections  I  saw  in 
others.  Yet  the  voice  I  heard  in  that  night  crying, 
“  Live  the  life  of  Christ,”  continually  rang  in  my 
ears,  and  impressing  upon  my  soul  the  cry  of  that 
night  more  and  yet  more  forcibly,  I  read  in  my 
Testament:  “  He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  him 
[Christ]  ought  himself  also  so  to  walk,  even  as  he 
walked.”  “  He  that  saith,  I  know  him  and  keepeth 
not  his  commandments  is  a  liar  and  the  truth  is 
not  in  him.”  This  made  me  feel  very  miserable 
indeed,  as  I  saw  how  far  short  of  the  life  of  Christ 
my  life  came. 

In  my  struggle  for  victory  over  sin  I  often  ex¬ 
claimed  in  the  language  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  “  O, 
wretched  man  that  I  am!”  Yet,  in  the  face  of 
temptation,  I  seemed  perfectly  helpless. 


CONVERSION 


43 


I  neither  had  courage  nor  power  to  resist  it. 
Again  and  again  I  found  myself  sadly  defeated. 
Having  struggled  on  in  this  unsatisfactory  condi¬ 
tion  for  about  three  months,  thank  God,  victory 
and  deliverance  finally  came,  and  came  in  a  very 
unexpected  way.  Returning  home  one  day  from 
town,  I  noticed  my  boy  playing  in  the  road,  and, 
as  had  been  my  custom,  I  attracted  his  attention. 
He  was  soon  in  my  arms,  and  when  I  kissed  him 
he  drew  back  his  little  head  and,  looking  at  me  in 
amazement,  said :  “  Papa,  you  have  been  smoking, 
and  you  promised  mamma  you  would  not  smoke 
any  more,  and  you’ve  told  a  lie.  I  am  going  right 
in  the  house  to  tell  mamma.”  And  he  did. 

This  accusation  of  my  child  was  true  and  it 
struck  into  my  heart  like  a  sword.  I  never  felt 
so  guilty  or  so  despicable  !  When  I  entered  the 
house,  I  avoided  my  wife  and  going  to  my  room, 
I  shut  the  door,  and  falling  prostrate  before  God, 
heart-broken,  cried  for  mercy.  It  was  not  the 
smoking  or  my  lying  to  my  dear  wife  that  now 
confronted  me;  these,  as  it  were,  were  only  the 
matches  which  set  the  whole  city  on  fire.  All  my 
sins  from  my  youth  up  came  before  me  like  a  pano¬ 
rama.  I  stood  face  to  face  before  God,  my  Judge 
— a  condemned  soul.  Never  until  now  did  I 
realize  what  a  miserable  sinner  I  was,  and  I  felt 
guilty  before  God.  But  the  merciful  words  of 
Jesus  unto  the  woman,  in  the  Gospel:  “  Neither 
do  I  condemn  thee;  go  and  sin  no  more,”  thank 


44 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


God,  occurred  to  me  also  at  this  time,  and  com¬ 
forted  my  heart.  This  relieved  my  soul  from  its 
burden,  immediately  a  flood  of  joy  and  peace 
entered. 

How  for  the  first  time  I  realized  the  meaning 
of  the  Atonement  of  Christ f  and  experienced  the 
efficacy  of  His  death  on  the  Cross  where  “  He  was 
wounded  for  our  transgressions,  bruised  for  our 
iniquities ;  where  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was 
laid  upon  Him,  and  with  His  stripes  we  are 
healed.”  Thank  God,  this  proved  my  cure .  I  was 
healed.  I  was  saved!  Hallelujah! 

With  this  experience  a  wonderful  change  took 
place.  I  say  wonderful,  because  this  seems  the  only 
fitting  word  to  express  my  feeling.  A  new  spirit 
possessed  me — a  spirit  of  love — a  desire  to  please 
God.  Habits  formed  from  childhood  became  dis¬ 
tasteful  and  were  dropped.  Customs  familiar  from 
boyhood  were  given  up.  Worldly  pleasures  and 
amusements  lost  their  charm,  and  an  intense  crav¬ 
ing  seized  me  to  love  and  please  God.  My  whole 
being  seemed  flooded  with  the  love  of  God.  I 
longed  for  prayer — a  desire  entirely  new  to  me. 
Often  I  walked  miles  in  the  darkness  of  night,  in 
order  to  talk  with  God  uninterrupted.  My  spirit 
was  tender ;  and  when  alone  with  God  tears  brought 
me  great  relief.  Many  nights  my  pillow  was 
bathed  with  tears. 

The  Christian  life  was  all  so  new  to  me,  having 
come  to  me  so  very  suddenly,  and  there  were  natu- 


CONVERSION 


45 


rally  many  things  I  did  not  understand.  My 
Jewish  heart  having  been,  pregnated  from  child¬ 
hood  with  deep-rooted  prejudices  against  Christ 
and  His  followers,  these  prejudices  could  not  he 
obliterated  from  my  mind  at  once.  By  degrees, 
however,  through  prayer  and  the  reading  of  the 
Word  of  God,  the  darkness  gradually  vanished,  and 
the  light  came  in.  The  great  mysteries  of  God’s 
heavenly  repository  opened.  To  me  it  was  won¬ 
derful  !  Treasures  I  never  knew  existed  came  to 
light.  As  a  rosebud  unfolds  its  petals  and  brings 
to  light  its  hidden  beauty  in  the  rays  of  the  sum¬ 
mer  sun,  so  the  mysteries  of  God’s  wonderful  sal¬ 
vation  unfolded  in  the  light  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  I 
could  now  understand  why  David  prayed,  “  Open 
Thou  mine  eyes,  that  I  may  behold  wondrous 
things  out  of  thy  law.”  The  hunger  in  my  soul 
for  God’s  divine  truth  was  very  keen.  I  could 
hardly  await  the  end  of  my  day’s  labour  to  be  alone 
with  my  precious  Bible.  Often  until  the  early 
hours  of  the  morning  my  famished  soul  would  feed 
on  the  heavenly  manna,  and  drink  of  the  waters  of 
life  until  overwhelmed  with  God’s  blessing  and 
power,  and  unable  to  go  on.  Again  and  again,  I 
stood  amazed  at  its  wondrous  revelation. 

Something  which  surprised  me  above  all  else, 
was  the  love  which  possessed  me  for  all  human 
kind  whether  they  were  Jews  or  Gentiles.  For¬ 
merly  my  love  had  reached  no  further  than  my 
home,  and  my  kindred  in  the  flesh.  “  The  powers 


46 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


of  the  world  to  come  ”  became  real  to  me.  I  saw 
that  every  one  I  met  was  destined  to  destruction 
unless  quickened  by  tbe  Spirit.  I  felt  my  re¬ 
sponsibility  to  warn  bim  to  flee  from  tbe  wratb 
to  come. 

In  tbe  neighbourhood  where  I  lived  was  an  unused 
schoolhouse.  I  obtained  permission  from  those  in 
charge  to  hold  services  here.  After  cleaning  the 
place  I  secured  seats  enough  for  40  people,  then  I 
had  bills  printed,  at  my  own  expense,  and  adver¬ 
tised  that  services  would  be  held  here  Sunday  af¬ 
ternoon  at  3  o’clock.  Some  Christian  friends  bor¬ 
rowed  song-books  from  a  church  near  by  and  the 
first  Sunday  service  was  attended  by  ten  persons. 
At  the  close  of  the  service  three  of  these  accepted 
Christ.  The  following  Sunday  every  seat  was  oc¬ 
cupied  and  every  service  thereafter  was  well  at¬ 
tended  with  the  best  interest  manifested.  As  long 
as  I  was  able  to  hold  these  services,  the  results  were 
very  satisfactory,  and  before  I  left  I  turned  the 
work  over  to  the  minister  of  a  near-by  church. 


VI 


SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES 


HROUGH  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures, 
I  discovered  that  the  great  incorruptible 
inheritance  which  is  reserved  in  heaven 
for  us,  is  acquirable  only  through  a  life  of  “  holi¬ 
ness  x  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.” 
I  determined,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  conform  my 
life  to  this  condition  in  order  to  make  my  claim 
to  the  inheritance  sure  in  the  end. 

The  many  denominations,  and  their  different 
doctrines,  puzzled  me.  I  could  not  understand  how 
they  could  all  he  right  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  yet 
differ  so  widely  one  from  the  other  in  their  teach¬ 
ing.  It  became  my  earnest  desire  to  find  out  for 
myself  what  were  the  real  essentials  of  salvation. 
Eor  this  purpose  I  searched  the  Scripture,  both  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament.  Here  I  discovered 
that  the  foundation  is  laid  in  “  repentance  toward 
God  and  faith  in  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.”  These  conditions  I  had  already  complied 
with.  I  also  saw,  as  Christians  we  are  all  under 
the  New  Covenant,  which  God  had  promised  to 
make  with  the  House  of  Israel,  “  after  those 
days,” — that  is,  after  the  first  Covenant  which  God 

had  made  formerly  with  our  fathers  when  He 

47 


48 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  should  have 
become  invalid.  The  invalidity  of  the  Old  Cove¬ 
nant  I  clearly  saw  became  effected,  when  the  Jews 
rejected  and  condemned  Christ.  The  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  which  followed,  completely  and  per¬ 
manently  annulled  the  Old  Covenant. 

Since  that  time,  the  keeping  of  the  Jewish  forms 
and  ordinances  have  been  made  impossible  to  the 
J  ews. 

First.  Because  their  Temple  and  the  altar  with 
all  its  Mosaic  belongings  were  destroyed. 

Second.  The  Levitical  priesthood  as  ordained  of 
God  to  intercede  between  God  and  the  people  has 
since  likewise  vanished. 

Third.  With  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the 
Jews  themselves  became  dispersed  among  the  na¬ 
tions  of  the  world.  Under  these  conditions,  we 
can  clearly  see  how  utterly  impossible  it  would  be 
for  them  to-day  to  carry  out  the  prescribed  forms 
of  worship  in  accordance  with  the  first  covenant. 

Again:  Since  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  the 
very  books  of  genealogy,  the  only  means  by  which 
the  Jews  could  prove  their  lineage,  are  gone.  The 
priests  in  accordance  with  the  law  must  all  be 
Levites  of  the  family  of  Aaron,  to  make  them 
eligible  to  the  office.  This  identity  now,  cannot  be 
established  with  any  degree  of  certainty,  in  the  ab¬ 
sence  of  the  ancient  records.  Thus  the  ruined  and 
desolate  condition  of  the  Jews  is  revealed,  with  the 
Old  Covenant  broken  and  abolished. 


SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES 


49 


Can  we  wonder  that  Jesus  wept,  when  He  fore¬ 
saw  their  utter  ruin  and  desolation  which  awaited 
them  when  they  rejected  Him,  their  only  hope  of 
salvation?  Can  we  wonder  that  He  cried,  when 
He  beheld  the  city,  “  Oh,  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 
thou  that  killest  the  prophets  and.  stonest  them 
which  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have 
gathered  thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gath- 
ereth  her  chickens  under  her  wing,  and  ye  would 
not !  Behold,  your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate, 
For  I  say  unto  you,  ye  shall  not  see  me  henceforth 
till  ye  shall  say,  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.”  Matt.  23 :  38,  39. 

It  is  pitiful  indeed,  to  see  these  poor  blinded 
souls  in  their  present  form  of  worship,  trying  to 
still  cling  to  their  old  forms  without  the  means  of 
the  prescribed  sacrifice  offering  of  the  blood  for 
their  sins  in  accordance  with  the  Old  Covenant.  It 
reminds  one  of  a  poor  broken-hearted  mother,  who 
at  the  death  of  her  child,  will  not  be  persuaded  that 
her  child  is  dead,  and  in  her  sorrow  and  anguish 
is  blindly  hugging  to  her  bosom  the  cold,  lifeless 
form  of  her  offspring.  This  is  the  attitude  of  the 
Jews  in  their  present  form  of  worship. 

You  will  ask  then,  if  the  Hebrews,  to-day,  have 
no  priest,  nor  sacrifice,  nor  altar.  How  do  they 
answer  to  God  for  their  sins?  For  He  requires  the 
shedding  of  blood  as  an  Atonement  for  our  sins 
now  as  He  did  in  the  past.  Well,  their  rabbis  have 
kindly  accommodated  them  with  a  substitute.  On 


50  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 

the  Passover  night  when  the  shedding  of  the  blood 
of  a  lamb  is  required,  they  offer  unto  God  a  dry 
roasted  shank  bone,  this  the  rabbi  declares  is  all 
God  now  requires  since  the  destruction  of  Jeru¬ 
salem.  The  Christians  through  the  Atonement  of 
Jesus  Christ  are  offering  unto  God  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb  God  has  provided  as  an  Atonement  for 
our  sins.  “  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  His  Son 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin  ”  and  all  there  is  left  for 
the  Jews  to  offer  to  God  is  a  dry  roasted  shank 
bone. 

The  New  Covenant  became  established  at  the 
cross  of  Calvary,  and  is  entered  into  by  everyone 
who  comes  to  God  through  repentance  and  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ.  This  includes  the  J ews  with  all 
other  people,  civilized  and  uncivilized.  “  Whoso¬ 
ever  will,  may  come.” 

This  New  Covenant  I  concluded,  must  now  be 
as  obligatory  to  all  Christians  as  was  formerly  the 
Old  Covenant  to  all  Jews.  And  if  we  fail  to  live 
up  to  the  principles  involved  in  this  New  Cove¬ 
nant  we  shall,  as  did  the  Jews  likewise,  fail  to  in¬ 
herit  all  God  has  promised  to  us. 

I  realized  fully  my  danger  and  the  importance 
of  walking  in  all  the  light  of  the  gospel.  I  deter¬ 
mined  to  profit  by  the  failure  of  my  fathers  and 
gain  in  my  Christian  experience  by  faith,  what 
they  lost  through  unbelief.  Faithfulness  to  God,  I 
saw  was  the  essential  requisite  to  gain  our  heavenly 


SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES 


51 


reward  in  Christ.  “  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death, 
and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life/7 

In  evidence  of  my  acceptance  with  God,  I  had 
received  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  promise  of  God — “  I 
will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you  to 
walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my  judg¬ 
ments,  and  do  them.77  Through  the  Holy  Spirit  I 
had  now  also  received  power  as  a  Christian  to  carry 
out  the  principles  involved  in  this  New  Covenant. 
This  our  fathers .  lacked  under  the  law.  As  a  re¬ 
sult  of  this  experience,  I  realized  there  must  also 
follow  a  thorough  separation  from  the  world.  The 
outward  evidence  of  this  inner  experience  is  mani¬ 
fest  in  this — “  if  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love 
of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.77  Nonconformity  to 
the  world,  became  to  me  a  natural  leading  of  the 
Spirit,  since  I  had  already  conformed  my  life  to 
this  rule. 

I  was  troubled,  however,  when  reading  “  Be  not 
unequally  yoked  together  with  unbelievers  for  what 
fellowship  hath  righteousness  with  unrighteous¬ 
ness?  and  what  communion  hath  light  with  dark¬ 
ness?  and  what  concord  hath  Christ  with  Belial? 
or  what  part  hath  he  that  helieveth  with  an  infidel  ? 
— for  ye  are  the  temple  of  the  living  God;  as  God 
hath  said,  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk  in  them; 
and  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  he  my  peo¬ 
ple.  Wherefore  come  out  from  among  them,  and 
touch  not  the  unclean  thing ;  and  I  will  receive  you, 
and  will  be  a  Father  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my 


52 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


sons  and  daughters,  saith  the  Lord  Almighty.’’  II 
Cor.  6 :  14-18.  Before  my  conversion  I  had  become 
affiliated  with  three  different  organizations,  the 
members  of  which  were  far  from  being  Christians. 
Our  relationship  was  closely  cemented  by  the 
strongest  oaths  and  obligations,  and  our  fellowship 
of  the  most  cordial  nature. 

Beside  the  social  bond  there  were  material  and 
financial  benefits  to  be  derived,  yet  here  I  saw  my 
duty  as  a  Christian.  To  decide  this  question  in 
accordance  with  the  will  of  God  meant  that  I  should 
have  to  “  come  out  from  among  them  ”  and  sever 
my  connections  with  them.  Be  assured  this  was 
no  easy  task.  I  realized  how  such  a  step  would 
be  misconstrued  by  my  friends  and  associates,  and 
would  probably  create  for  me  new  and  additional 
enemies.  This  I  wished  to  avoid.  After  much 
prayer  and  patient  waiting  on  the  Lord,  however, 
my  duty  became  plain.  I  did  not  want  the  experi¬ 
ence  Esau  had,  “  who,  for  one  morsel  of  bread,  sold 
his  birthright.  Afterwards'  when  he  would  have 
inherited  the  blessing,  he  was  rejected;  for  he 
found  no  place  of  repentance,  though  he  sought  it 
carefully  with  tears.”  I  realized  I  could  not  af¬ 
ford  to  take  such  chances  with  my  inheritance.  Ac¬ 
cordingly,  I  decided  to  obey  God  and  my  own  con¬ 
victions.  I  came  out  from  among  them. 

After  these  wonderful  experiences  through  faith 
in  Christ  I  was  naturally  much  interested  to  know 


SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES 


53 


just  what  the  Old  Testament  had  to  say  of  the 
Messiah. 

From  the  Jewish  point  of  view,  my  knowledge 
of  Christ  had  not  been  of  a  very  helpful  character. 
It  consisted  of  fabricated  superstitions — fables 
only — that  had  no  foundation  in  history;  nor  were 
there  facts  of  any  kind  to  establish  their  claim  to 
authenticity.  My  salvation  I  saw  was  based  on  the 
revelation  of  the  Bible;  this,  I  concluded,  must 
also  he  the  source  of  my  information  concerning 
Christ.  I  therefore  earnestly  searched  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  of  the  Old  Testament  and  was  well  compen¬ 
sated  for  my  trouble. 

In  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah  I  saw  such 
a  vivid  likeness  to  the  sufferings  of  Christ  that  I 
marvelled.  Here  I  saw  a  shadow  cast  seven  hun¬ 
dred  years  before  the  real  object  became  visible. 
I  read  this  chapter  over  many  times,  shedding  tears 
every  time,  and  thought  to  myself,  “  How  can  any 
Jewish  man  or  woman  read  this  chapter  and  not 
see  Christ?  Or  how  can  anyone  else  read  it  with¬ 
out  a  broken  heart  and  a  contrite  spirit  ?  ” 

The  whole  chapter  deals  with  one  man  without 
a  name.  In  every  verse  of  the  chapter  reference 
is  made  to  him.  At  first  it  seemed  to  me  rather 
complicated.  I  could  not  see  very  clearly  whether 
the  prophet  speaks  of  himself  or  of  someone  else. 
In  order  to  clarify  my  vision,  I  rewrote  the  whole 
chapter,  setting  forth  every  reference  to  Him,  He 
and  His  in  capital  letters  at  the  beginning  of  every 


54  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


line  without  changing  a  single  word  or  syllable. 
To  me  the  result  was  wonderful. 

When  I  counted  all  the  references  made  to  Him 
I  found  to  my  amazement  that  they  numbered 
forty-nine — just  seven  times  seven.  I  thought  this 
could  not  he  an  accident  for  there  are  no  accidents 
with  God. 

I  could  see  no  other  reason  for  this  coincidence 
except  as  it  might  have  reference  to  the  seven  times 
seven  curses  God  had  pronounced  upon  the  children 
of  Israel  in  the  Scripture  if  they  failed  to  obey 
and  do  all  the  commandments  God  had  given 
them. 

These  forty-nine  references  in  this  chapter  I 
thought  must  mean  that  “  He  ”  (this  man)  made 
atonement  for  all  the  forty-nine  curses  when  “  He 
was  wounded  for  our  transgressions  and  bruised 
for  our  iniquities.”  “  The  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him 
the  iniquity  of  us  all.”  That  is — “  He  was  made  a 
curse  for  us  all.” 

The  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah  follows: 

Who  hath  believed  our  report  ?  and  to  whom  is 
the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed  ? 

1.  For  he  shall  grow  up  before  him  as  a  tender 

plant  and  as  a  root  out  of  dry  ground. 

2.  he  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness;  and 

when  we  shall  see 

3.  him  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  shall  desire 

4.  HIM 

5.  he  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men;  a 


SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES 


55 


man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
grief  and  we  hid  as  it  were  our  faces 
from 

6.  HIM 

7.  he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed 

8.  him  not,  surely 

9.  he  hath  borne  our  grief  and  carried  our 

sorrows;  yet  we  did  esteem 

10.  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and  afflicted. 

But 

11.  HE  WAS  WOUNDED  FOR  OUR  TRANSGRES¬ 

SIONS 

12.  HE  WAS  BRUISED  FOR  OUR  INIQUITIES  *. 

THE  CHASTISEMENT  OF  OUR  PEACE  WAS 
UPON 

13.  HIM  AND  WITH 

14.  HIS  STRIPES  WE  ARE  HEALED.  All  we 

like  sheep  have  gone  astray;  we  have 
turned  every  one  to  his  own  way  and 
the  Lord  hath  laid  on 

15.  HIM  THE  INIQUITY  OF  US  ALL. 

16.  he  was  oppressed,  and 

17.  he  was  afflicted,  yet 

18.  he  opened  not 

19.  his  mouth. 

20.  HE  IS  BROUGHT  AS  A  LAMB  TO  THE 

slaughter  and  as  a  sheep  before  her 
shearers  is  dumb,  so 

21.  he  opened  not 

22.  ins  mouth 


56  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 

23.  he  was  taken  from  prison  and  from  judg¬ 

ment  and  who  shall  declare 

24.  his  generation  ?  For 

25.  HE  WAS  CUT  OFF  OUT  OF  THE  LAND  OF 

the  living,  for  the  Transgression 

OF  MY  PEOPLE  WAS 

26.  HE  stricken.  And 

27.  he  made 

28.  his  grave  with  the  wicked  and  with  the 

rich  in 

29.  his  death,  because 

30.  he  had  no  violence,  neither  was  any  de¬ 

ceit  in 

31.  his  mouth,  Yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to 

bruise 

32.  him  he  hath  put 

33.  him  to  grief. 

WHEN  THOU  SHALT  MAKE 

34.  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin. 

35.  HE  SHALL  SEE 

36.  HIS  SEED 

37.  he  shall  prolong 

38.  his  days,  and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord 

shall  prosper  in 

39.  his  hand, 

40.  he  shall  see  the  travail  of 

41.  his  soul  and  be  satisfied  by 

42.  ms  knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant 

justify  many;  For 

43.  HE  SHALL  BEAR  THEIR  INIQUITIES. 


SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES 


57 


Therefor©  will  I  divide 

44.  him  a  portion  with  the  great,  and 

45.  he  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong; 

because 

46.  he  hath  poured  out 

47.  his  soul  unto  death;  and 

48.  he  was  numbered  with  the  transgressors; 

and 

49.  he  bake  the  sin  of  many  and  made  in¬ 

tercession  for  the  TRANSGRESSORS. 

To  me  it  was  indeed  wonderful  to  find  in  the 
Old  Testament  the  narrative  of  Christ’s  birth, 
Christ’s  works,  Christ’s  suffering,  ClirisCs  death 
and  His  glorious  resurrection  of  which  I  had  read 
so  recently  in  the  New  Testament,  so  strongly 
foreshadowed  and  confirmed  by  prophecy.  It  did 
indeed  arouse  my  surprise  and  wonder  that  this 
Saviour  of  mankind,  having  all  divine  knowledge 
and  power  at  His  command,  should  have  chosen  to 
be  born  a  Jew,  of  a  people  which,  even  at  that  time, 
were  hated  and  despised  among  all  other  nations. 
I  now  also  saw,  very  clearly,  the  reason  my  dear 
people  cannot  recognize  in  this  humble  person 
their  own  promised  Messiah. 

First,  because  “  the  god  of  this  world  hath 
blinded  the  minds  of  them  which  believe  not;” 
second,  their  preconceived  prejudice  against  Christ 
prevents  their  coming  unto  Him  in  true  repentance 
and  faith  to  have  unbelief,  the  cause  of  their  blind¬ 
ness,  removed;  third,  because  His  new  name  being 


58  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


Jesus  they  cannot  understand  how  this  carpenter’s 
son  can  he  the  son  of  David,  at  the  same  time  also 
the  Son  of  God.  Since  this  name  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  Old  Testament  although  it  is  declared: 
“  Thou  shalt  be  called  by  a  new  name.” 

Under  this  cloud  I  saw  the  Messiah,  was  hidden 
from  their  view,  and  the  very  name  given  of  God 
to  be  a  name  of  joy  and  a  crown  of  blessing  has 
become  unto  poor,  blinded  Jews,  a  stumbling-block 
and  a  rock  of  offence.  Since,  “  there  is  none  other 
name  under  Heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we 
must  be  saved,”  the  cloud  remains  upon  our  dark¬ 
ened  hearts  until  the  heart  turns  to  God  in  true 
repentance  and  faith  in  His  name. 

Then,  and  not  until  then,  does  the  cloud  vanish. 
The  Messiah  which  was  hidden  then  emerges  and 
comes  to  view,  as  the  bright  rising  sun  of  the  morn¬ 
ing  dispels  the  darkness  of  the  night  and  ushers  in 
the  dawning  of  the  day,  even  so  Christ  becomes 
clearer  and  plainer  to  those  who  obey  Him,  until, 
finally,  we  behold  Him  in  all  His  majestic  glory 
and  splendour,  like  the  bright  shining  sun  at 
meridian  height. 

This  revelation  stirred  my  soul  to  the  utmost,  I 
saw  now  no  reason  why  I  should  be  ashamed  of 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  or  be  afraid  openly  to  ac¬ 
knowledge  my  precious  Redeemer. 

The  realization  of  how  closely  our  Lord  became 
related  to  us  by  having  been  bom  of  the  flesh,  and 
how  much  closer  still  we  become  related  to  Him 


SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES 


59 


when  conforming  to  His  Holy  will  and  being  born 
again  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  created  a  strong  desire 
in  me  to  spread  the  good  tidings,  in  order  that 
others  also  might  he  induced  to  seek  from  the  same 
divine  source,  the  consolation  that  I  myself  had 
found. 


VII 


ENDURING  PERSECUTION 


AT  this  time,  I  stood  well  in  the  estima¬ 
tion  of  both  Jews  and  Gentiles.  That 
favonrahle  opinion  I  valued  greatly,  and 
I  must  own  to  the  severe  struggle  through  which  I 
passed  before  I  resolved  to  make  open  confession 
of  my  conversion,  and  to  do  it  without  further 
delay. 

For  three  years  I  had  been  in  the  employ  of  a 
Jewish  firm,  for  which  I  was  then  working,  and 
our  mutual  relations  up  to  this  period  had  been  of 
the  most  cordial  and  even  confidential  nature.  My 
wife  and  I  were  invited  to  the  homes  of  the  heads 
of  the  house,  and  on  Jewish  festivals  and  holidays 
we  met  together  in  the  same  Synagogue. 

But,  alas!  we  were  not  only  united  in  business 
and  socially,  but  also  in  racial  rancour  against 
Christ  and  his  followers.  This  animosity  had  been 
specially  aroused  by  some  members  of  a  Christian 
Mission,  who  had  persistently  held  their  open-air 
meetings  in  front  of  our  store,  and  this  had  an¬ 
noyed  ns  so  much  that  we  had  combined  in  revil¬ 
ing  Christ  and  His  followers,  and  I  had  often  closed 

co 


ENDURING  PERSECUTION 


61 


our  door  in  order  that  we  might  not  hear  the  name 
of  Jesus  mentioned. 

All  this  came  to  my  mind  in  my  struggle  for 
victory,  and  I  dreaded  greatly  to  make  my  con¬ 
version  known  to  my  employers.  How  could  I  con¬ 
fess  to  them  that  this  Christ,  of  whom  I  had  spoken 
recently  with  such  hatred  and  contempt,  was  now 
my  acknowledged  Lord  and  Master. 

I  plainly  foresaw  the  scorn,  the  ridicule,  the  con¬ 
tempt,  such  open  confession  of  my  sincere  belief 
in  Jesus  would  arouse  against  me.  I  knew  that  I 
would  be  forsaken  by  my  kindred,  and  become  an 
outcast  and  stranger  to  all  my  old  friends  and 
acquaintances. 

I  could  not  expect  much  help  from  the  Church 
of  which  I  had  so  recently  become  a  member,  and 
one  could  hardly  hope  for  sympathy  from  the  out¬ 
side  world.  For  weeks  I  struggled  to  overcome  the 
powers  of  darkness.  It  seemed  to  me  like  a  real 
fight  with  the  devil;  the  Lord,  however,  stood  by 
me,  revealing  to  my  inward  consciousness  the  fact 
that  “  The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,  I  shall  not  want.” 

The  spirit  of  the  Lord  burned  in  my  soul  like 
a  fire  wanting  vent.  I  felt  constrained  by  an  un¬ 
seen  power  to  confess  Christ.  Not  being  able  to 
endure  the  pressure  any  longer  in  silence,  I  sought 
relief  at  a  prayer  meeting,  but  before  I  could  stand 
before  the  congregation  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  fiends 
of  hell  were  present  to  oppose  me.  A  voice  seemed 
to  whisper,  “  What  use  is  it  for  you  to  tell  these 


62  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


people  that  you  are  a  Christian?  They  all  know 
yon  to  be  a  Jew,  and  they  will  never  believe  your 
testimony.” 

When  at  last  I  summoned  courage  to  try  and 
speak,  I  trembled  like  a  leaf,  my  knees  fairly 
knocked  together,  my  lips  quivered.  At  last  I  com¬ 
pelled  myself  to  stand,  and  with  broken  voice  and 
tears  I  testified  before  this  congregation  how  Christ 
had  revealed  Himself  to  me  in  the  night,  and  that 
I  had  accepted  Him  as  my  Saviour  and  my  Lord. 

My  testimony  struck  like  a  thunderbolt,  and 
brought  a  hush  upon  that  Christian  congregation. 
Instead  of  their  not  believing,  as  the  devil  had  pre¬ 
viously  suggested,  every  eye  was  in  tears  for  the 
love  of  Christ  constrained  them.  This  news  of  my 
Christian  experience  quickly  spread  among  the 
Jews.  It  ran  through  the  town  like  a  prairie  fire, 
and  ere  long  I  felt  the  returns  coming  in ;  in  a  day 
or  two  after  this  eventful  evening,  the  members  of 
my  firm  failed  to  bid  me  the  usual  “  good  morn¬ 
ing,”  and  not  long  afterwards  Jewish  friends  failed 
to  see  me  when  passing. 

At  last  I  was  informed  by  the  head  of  the  firm 
that  the  business  of  late  had  become  so  poor  that 
it  did  not  justify  them  in  keeping  me  in  their  em¬ 
ploy  any  longer,  and  I  was  paid  off. 

Having  been  discharged,  I  failed  to  secure  em¬ 
ployment  in  the  town,  as  my  Jewish  friends  had 
it  reported  that  I  was  beside  myself.  Ho  sane 
man,  they  said,  would  declare  as  I  had  done,  that 


ENDURING  PERSECUTION 


63 


he  had  seen  Christ,  seeing  that  this  man  was  cruci¬ 
fied  and  buried  nineteen  hundred  years  ago. 

Nor  could  I  find  in  my  heart  to  blame  my 
people  for  feeling  thus  against  me.  Having  lived 
for  thirty-six  years  in  compliance  with  their  present 
manners  and  customs,  and  having  always  behaved 
myself  as  becometh  one  of  our  race,  it  must  indeed 
have  been  a  great  shock  and  surprise  to  them,  to 
see  me  suddenly  stop  in  my  accustomed  course  of 
life  and  refuse  to  go  on. 

Not  being  able  to  secure  employment  in  the 
town,  we  left  San  Bernardino  for  Los  Angeles. 
Here  I  secured  a  position  with  the  same  firm  that 
I  had  been  with  some  years  before.  This  was  also 
a  Jewish  firm,  but  they  had  not  as  yet  heard  of 
my  conversion.  In  a  few  weeks,  however,  the  news 
reached  them,  and  not  long  thereafter  I  was 
told  that  the  business  of  late  had  fallen  off 
and  therefore  it  did  not  justify  them  in  keeping 
me  in  their  employ  any  longer,  and  I  was  paid  off 
again.  The  following  week  I  obtained  another 
position  in  a  large  clothing  firm,  but  also  composed 
of  Jews. 

By  this  time  I  was  fully  convinced  of  my  fate 
as  a  Christian,  and  therefore  determined  that  this 
firm  should  not  find  out  that  I  was  a  believer  in 
Christ  if  I  could  possibly  prevent  it.  I  was  get¬ 
ting  on  beautifully,  and  I  was  congratulating  my¬ 
self  on  my  success  when  one  Saturday  evening  all 
the  salesmen  were  notified  to  report  for  duty  at 


64  OUT  OF,  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


eight-thirty  Sunday  morning  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  the  stock  in  shape  for  a  special  sale  which 
was  to  begin  Monday  morning.  I  had  resolved 
since  becoming  a  Christian,  not  to  desecrate  the 
Sabbath  day  if  I  could  by  any  means  avoid  it. 
Here  came  the  test,  and  the  question  was,  whether 
to  keep  my  word  with  God  and  confess  Christ  be¬ 
fore  these  people,  or  else  break  my  word  and  deny 
my  Lord?  Just  about  this  time  I  had  been  read¬ 
ing  about  Joseph  and  Daniel,  Shadrach,  Meshach, 
and  Abed-nego,  and  I  saw  when  these  men  pur¬ 
posed  in  their  hearts  that  they  would  not  defile 
themselves  but  serve  God  and  acknowledge  Him, 
God  was  with  them  and  prospered  them.  I  saw 
plainly  there  was  only  one  thing  for  me  to  do,  and 
that  was  to  be  faithful  to  God. 

With  this  in  my  mind,  I  informed  the  manager 
of  my  faith  in  Christ  and  my  desire  to  be  excused 
from  working  Sunday  in  order  that  I  might  ob¬ 
serve  the  Sabbath.  He  expressed  great  surprise  at 
my  confession  and  told  me  that  before  he  could 
give  a  decided  answer  he  would  first  have  to  con¬ 
sult  the  head  of  the  firm.  He  did  so,  and  shortly 
afterward  informed  me  that  my  request  was 
granted,  which  greatly  surprised  me  at  the  time, 
but  as  soon  as  the  special  sale  was  over,  my  posi¬ 
tion  was  over,  as  well,  and  I  was  paid  off  again. 

I  could  ill  afford  to  be  out  of  employment,  so  I 
immediately  looked  for  another  position.  Failing 
to  secure  one  with  the  better  grade  clothing  firms, 


ENDURING  PERSECUTION 


65 


I  overcame  my  pride  in  my  need,  and  engaged  with 
a  cheaper  concern.  This  firm  had  known  me  when 
I  was  employed  with  the  largest  business  house  in 
the  city,  and  naturally  felt  proud  of  their  bargain 
and  thought  that  they  had  captured  a  prize  when 
they  secured  my  services.  They  treated  me  most 
kindly,  wondering,  of  course,  at  my  come-down. 
Their  curiosity,  however,  did  not  last  long.  The 
second  week  I  was  with  them  I  saw  by  their 
changed  attitude  toward  me  that  the  secret  of  my 
faith  in  Christ  must  have  leaked  out.  Their  warm, 
kindly  feeling  toward  me  became  chilled,  the  tem¬ 
perature  falling,  during  the  week,  to  a  very  low 
degree.  By  Saturday  night,  the  mercury  was  down 
to  zero. 

About  closing  time  Saturday  night,  the  proprie¬ 
tor  called  me  into  his  private  office,  and  asking  me 
to  he  seated,  took  a  seat  beside  me  and  engaged  me 
in  a  very  social  sort  of  conversation.  He  seemed 
much  interested  in  my  family,  and  when  he  heard 
about  the  sickness  of  my  wife,  he  expressed  great 
sympathy.  He  inquired  carefully  about  my  chil¬ 
dren,  as  to  their  ages  and  health.  He  wanted  to 
know  how  long  I  had  been  married,  where  I  had 
lived  in  the  east  before  coming  to  California,  and 
all  sorts  of  other  questions.  Had  I  been  a  single 
man  I  would  have  been  suspicious  under  these  cir¬ 
cumstances,  that  perhaps  he  had  a  marriageable 
daughter  to  dispose  of,  or  that  he  was  getting  too 
old  to  manage  his  own  business  affairs  and  that  he 


66 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


had  in  mind  to  deed  his  business  over  to  me.  For 
it  did  seem  from  the  trend  of  his  conversation  as 
though  he  was  aiming  at  some  great  proposal. 
However,  all  this  wildfire  finally  burned  out,  and 
the  conversation  calmed  down  to  this: 

“  You  know,”  he  said,  “  we  are  not  a  concern 
like  the  London  Clothing  Company,  or  like  Jacoby 
Brothers,  and  we  can  hardly  afford  to  pay  you  the 
wages  you  really  are  deserving.  Our  business  is 
small  in  comparison  to  those  others  and  we  cannot 
very  well  afford  to  keep  you.”  He  handed  me  my 
pay  and  hoped  I  would  soon  secure  a  position 
worthy  of  my  service.  Thus  we  parted  the  best  of 
friends. 

The  next  morning  I  scanned  over  the  want  ads 
in  the  Los  Angeles  Times ,  and  there  I  saw  that  a 
clothing  firm  wanted  a  salesman  exactly  of  my 
experience,  the  name  of  the  firm  not  being  given. 
The  application  was  to  be  made  in  person,  and  the 
address  given  was  at  a  private  residence.  This  did 
not  appear  strange,  as  frequently  merchantmen 
from  near-by  country  towns  would  come  to  the  city 
to  engage  their  help  on  Sunday  and  at  the  same 
time  visit  friends  in  the  city  and  thus  save  hotel 
expenses. 

I  immediately  cut  out  the  ad.  and  called  at  the 
given  address,  rang  the  bell,  and  to  my  utter  amaze¬ 
ment,  when  the  door  opened,  I  stood  face  to  face 
with  the  gentleman  who  had  so  very  ceremoniously 
paid  me  off  on  the  previous  Saturday  night. 


ENDURING  PERSECUTION 


67 


Ho  was  a  very  short  and  stout  man  with  bald 
head  and  smooth,  clean-shaven  face  and  rather  fair 
complexion,  hut  the  moment  he  cast  his  eyes  on 
me  you  may  conjecture  what  complexion  he  had — ■ 
he  turned  scarlet.  His  whole  face  and  round  bald 
head  presented  the  most  perfect  likeness  of  a  full 
moon  in  all  its  glory.  No  artist  could  have  given 
expression  to  this  picture  and  have  done  it  justice. 

This  time  he  did  not  treat  me  with  the  kind  con¬ 
sideration  and  tender  feeling  he  had  on  Saturday 
night.  As  soon  as  he  recognized  me  he  slammed 
the  door  in  my  face  with  a  terrific  hang,  telling 
me  at  the  same  time  to  go  to  - . 

I  obtained  several  other  positions,  hut  alas,  alas ! 
with  the  same  result.  As  soon  as  my  employers 
discovered  that  I  believed  in  Christ,  immediately 
“  the  business  became  poor  ”  and  I  was  paid  off. 
I  had  eight  such  experiences  in  one  year.  By  this 
time  I  was  well  known  to  every  Jewish  firm  in 
the  city,  and  every  door  was  barred  against  me.  I 
was  now  left  without  position  or  friend,  with  a 
very  sick  wife  and  child  to  provide  for. 

Bailing  to  get  employment,  I  invested  what  little 
money  I  had  in  a  small  stock  of  groceries  in  the 
suburbs  of  the  city.  By  this  means  we  got  along 
fairly  well  financially,  but  very  poorly  spiritually. 
The  persecutions  and  insults  received  from  the 
Jewish  people  were  almost  more  than  we  could 
endure. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  a  lady  with  very  pleas- 


68  OUT  OU  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


ing  manners  and  beautiful  countenance  brought  the 
news  to  us  that  Christians  need  not  be  sick,  if  they 
would  learn  to  deny  the  existence  of  sin.  “  Sin 
and  sickness/’  she  said,  “  are  all  one,  and  the  rea¬ 
son  men  are  sick  is  because  they  think  so.” 

My  wife  had  been  ill  with  tuberculosis  for  seven 
years,  and  every  physician  we  consulted  had  pro¬ 
nounced  her  incurable.  This  lady,  however,  vowed 
she  could  cure  her  if  we  would  give  ourselves  over 
to  her  method  of  treatment.  As  we  had  already 
tried  every  new  consumption  cure  on  the  market, 
we  thought  it  would  be  wrong  not  to  avail  our¬ 
selves  of  this  one.  After  a  few  more  talks  with 
the  pleasant  lady,  we  inquired  what  we  would  have 
to  do  to  become  that  kind  of  Christian?  She  said 
we  would  have  to  buy  certain  books  written  and 
authorized  by  a  Mrs.  Eddy,  who  was  the  author  of 
this  type  of  Christianity.  After  purchasing  the 
books,  she  would  give  my  wife  the  required  treat¬ 
ments.  The  price  of  the  books,  a  complete  outfit, 
was  $3.50.  Thinking  this  a  much  cheaper  price 
for  Christianity  than  I  had  paid  for  mine,  I  or¬ 
dered  the  books  at  once,  and  told  her  to  begin  her 
treatment. 

During  the  treatment  she  sat  quietly  with  folded 
arms  and  closed  eyes,  saying  in  a  low  tone  of  voice, 
“  There  is  no  sin  nor  sickness ;  there  is  no  sin  nor 
sickness,”  repeating  the  same  for  at  least  an  hour, 
possibly  longer,  the  patient  at  the  same  time  doing 
likewise.  Her  regular  fee  for  each  treatment  was 


ENDURING  PERSECUTION 


69 


three  dollars,  but  as  we  were  poor  people,  she  re¬ 
duced  the  charges  to  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents. 
She  gave  my  wife  two  such  treatments  a  week  for 
some  weeks,  without  effecting  the  slightest  improve¬ 
ment.  No  doubt  you  will  think  it  strange  that  we 
should  have  fallen  a  prey  to  this  theory  so  easily, 
but  when  you  consider  that  my  wife  had  been  a 
sufferer  for  seven  years  and  growing  weaker  and 
weaker  all  the  time,  you  will  not  be  surprised  at 
our  accepting  any  hope  held  out  to  us.  A  drown¬ 
ing  man,  they  say,  will  grasp  at  a  straw.  Besides, 
we  were  both  new  and  weak  in  the  Christian  faith. 

But  when  you  think  of  the  thousands  who  are 
strong,  physically,  and  old  enough  to  know  better, 
who  fall  down  at  this  shrine  you  naturally  won¬ 
der!  I  am  told  there  are  to-day  no  fewer  than 
500,000  people,  or  even  a  far  greater  number  in 
this  country  alone  who  follow  this  teaching. 

The  influence  of  this  woman’s  books  over  the 
minds  of  some  people  is  really  remarkable.  I  be¬ 
lieve  it  has  been  the  means  of  misleading  thousands 
from  the  right  way  of  salvation  in  this  Christian 
land.  Its  victims,  strange  to  say,  are  not  the  poor 
and  ignorant,  as  one  might  suppose.  It  captures 
the  rich,  refined  and  the  educated  classes.  Among 
its  adherents  you  will  find  doctors,  lawyers  and 
professors;  it  gives  them,  nay,  promises  them,  a 
cheap  salvation.  It  is  to  them,  however,  a  salva¬ 
tion  without  a  crucified  Christ;  it  promises  them 
life  without  the  shedding  of  blood.  Yet  God  says: 


70 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


“  The  blood  is  the  life,”  u  and  without  the  shed¬ 
ding  of  blood,  there  is  no  remission”  [of  sin]. 
By  denying  the  existence  of  sin,  they  have  nothing 
to  repent  of ;  not  being  sinners,  they  need  no  atone¬ 
ment.  Christ  died  for  sinners  only,  and  these  He 
redeemed  with  His  own  Blood.  And  the  word  of 
God  most  emphatically  declares  that  “  all  have 
sinned,  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God.” 
“  That  there  is  none  righteous,  no  not  one.”  “  If 
we  confess  our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  for¬ 
give  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  un¬ 
righteousness.”  “  If  we  say  that  we  have  not 
sinned,  we  ?nahe  Him  a  Liar,  and  His  Word  is 
not  in  us.”  “  If  we  say  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive 
ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us.”  “  Whoso¬ 
ever  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me.”  They,  however, 
claim  to  be  followers  of  Christ  without  denying 
themselves  in  any  wise  but  denying  instead  the 
Sacrificial  Atonement  of  Christ.  The  Bible  with¬ 
out  the  Atonement  of  Christ  is  nothing  but  an 
empty  fairy  tale.  Yet  Mrs.  Eddy  for  some  reason 
called  her  invention  u  Christian  Science ;”  while  all 
the  theory  promulgated  in  her  teaching  is  entirely 
contrary  to  sound  Christian  doctrine. 

The  Lord,  however,  saw  our  danger,  and  came 
to  our  deliverance.  Two  women  we  had  met  at 
some  of  the  church  meetings,  were  visiting  a  sick 
lady  in  our  neighbourhood,  and  called  also  upon 
us.  We  told  them  of  our  experience  with  Chris- 


ENDURING  PERSECUTION 


71 


tian  Science.  Both  of  these  dear  sisters, — for 
such  they  proved  to  he, — were  horror-stricken,  and 
tearfully  entreated  us  to  forsake  this  so-called 
“  new  ”  religion,  assuring  us  that,  in  reality,  it  was 
nothing  but  the  devil’s  work.  They  pleaded  with 
us  to  call  upon  the  Name  of  the  Lord,  and  then 
opened  the  Word  of  God  to  us — and  as  they  did, 
the  Lord  opened  our  eyes.  We  all  got  down  on  our 
knees  before  God  in  earnest  prayer,  and,  bless 
God !  He  heard  our  cries  of  repentance,  and  in  His 
mercy  returned  unto  us  the  joy  of  His  salvation. 

Once  more  the  devil  was  defeated.  We  burned 
his  books,  paid  off  his  agent  in  full,  bade  her  adieu, 
and  she  returned  no  more.  Then,  as  the  children 
of  Israel  moved  on  when  the  cloud  over  the  Taber¬ 
nacle  led  the  way  in  the  wilderness,  so  the  glory 
of  God  appeared  in  our  hearts  and  we  moved  on 
in  our  Christian  experience. 

During  the  time  of  which  I  am  now  writing,  it 
pleased  God,  to  my  intense  grief,  to  take  unto 
Himself  my  dear  helpmate  who  for  years  had  suf¬ 
fered  patiently,  and  who  endured  uncomplainingly 
unto  the  end.  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  she  went 
home  to  receive  her  crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord 
promises  to  all  them  who  love  Llim  and  are  found 
faithful  unto  death.  Shortly  before  passing  away, 
she  suddenly  opened  her  eyes,  and  with  a  gaze  fixed 
steadfastly  toward  Heaven,  and  a  peculiar  expres¬ 
sion  of  radiant  happiness  overspreading  her  counte¬ 
nance,  she  exclaimed  in  a  tone  of  joy,  “  Oh,  I  see 


72  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


Jesus !  ”  With  this,  her  last  testimony,  she  closed 
her  eyes  and  left  our  darling  boy  and  myself  until 
we  shall  meet  again  on  the  bright  and  cloudless 
morning  when  all  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  and 
meet  to  part  no  more. 

After  the  death  of  my  wife,  one  of  my  neigh¬ 
bours  kindly  asked  me  to  make  my  home  with  him 
until  I  could  decide  what  I  intended  to  do  next. 
This  kind  offer  I  gratefully  accepted. 

The  family  with  which  I  went  to  reside  consisted 
of  father,  mother,  and  five  children;  they  also  pro¬ 
fessed  to  be  Christians.  I  shall  never  forget  our 
first  meal  at  this  home.  It  being  supper-time,  we 
all  took  seats  about  the  table.  The  plates  were 
soon  filled  and  each  in  turn  began  to  eat  without 
further  ceremony.  This  procedure  at  the  table  was 
contrary  to  my  habits  as  a  Christian,  as  it  also  was 
to  our  Jewish  customs  in  my  father’s  home,  for  we 
never  partook  of  any  food  until  my  father  had  first 
thanked  God  for  it,  in  prayer.  In  accordance  with 
my  custom,  I  asked  permission  to  say  grace.  The 
request  being  granted,  my  little  boy  and  I  bowed 
our  heads  in  prayer.  This  seemed  quite  an  amus¬ 
ing  feature  to  the  children  of  the  house.  After 
having  been  there  a  week,  I  spent  my  evenings  in 
the  family  circle,  reading  to  the  children  stories 
out  of  the  Bible,  emphasizing  and  explaining  them 
in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  plain  and  easy  to 
be  understood.  The  entire  family  would  follow 


ENDURING  PERSECUTION 


73 


each  narrative  with  the  utmost  attention.  Instead 
of  going  to  my  room  to  pray,  as  I  had  done  in  the 
beginning,  we  would  all  kneel  in  prayer  in  the  sit¬ 
ting-room  with  the  deepest  reverence  of  my  audi¬ 
ence. 

The  Lord  graciously  rewarded  me  for  my  testi¬ 
mony  and  in  this  home  He  gave  me  the  first  soul 
for  His  Kingdom.  While  I  had  been  dealing  with 
many  before,  yet  this  one  was  the  first  who  really 
and  definitely  surrendered  to  God. 

One  morning,  as  I  was  about  to  leave  my  room, 
there  came  a  knock  at  my  door.  On  opening  the 
door  I  found  my  hostess  in  tears. 

“  I  want  you  to  pray  with  me,”  she  said,  “  I 
have  been  going  to  church  all  my  life,  but  I  never 
realized  until  now  that  I  have  never  been  really 
converted.  I  want  to  know  Christ  as  my  Saviour 
as  you  do.”  Right  there  we  knelt  in  prayer,  and 
as  best  she  knew,  she  called  on  God  to  save  her, 
and  He  heard  her  prayer  and  gave  her  the  victory. 
Oh,  how  she  rejoiced  when  the  revelation  came  to 
her  from  God,  that  her  sins  were  all  forgiven! 
She  immediately  prayed  for  her  husband  and  her 
children.  She  said  grace,  herself,  at  the  table,  and 
prayed  with  her  children  at  night.  The  joy  I  ex¬ 
perienced  in  winning  this  one  soul  for  Christ,  more 
than  repaid  me  for  all  I  had  lost  through  accepting 
Christ. 

Much  as  I  enjoyed  the  winning  of  souls  I  could 


74 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


not  devote  all  my  time  to  this  work,  as  I  had  my¬ 
self  and  child  to  support,  so  I  sold  what  goods  I 
had,  paid  off  what  obligations  were  upon  me,  then 
looked  for  a  business  position,  and  the  way  soon 
opened. 


VIII 


STOREKEEPING  IN  THE  MOJAVE 

DESERT 


A  MERCHANT  in  Los  Angeles  who  al¬ 
ready  had  several  stores,  wanted  to  open 
another.  A  new  mining  town  on  the 
Mojave  desert  seemed  a  promising  venture.  This 
man  wanted  me  to  take  charge  of  the  business  for 
him.  After  talking  the  matter  over,  we  agreed  on 
the  terms,  then  got  ready  to  buy  the  stock.  The 
agreement  being  made,  it  dawned  upon  me  on  my 
way  home  that  this  gentleman  was  also  a  Jew,  and 
that  he  evidently  did  not  know  that  I  was  a  Chris¬ 
tian,  as  I  had  not  told  him.  Remembering  well 
my  former  experiences,  I  felt  it  would  he  more 
honourable  to  let  him  know  all  about  myself  be¬ 
fore  the  stock  was  bought,  for  I  thought  that  per¬ 
haps  when  he  knew  that  I  believed  in  Christ,  he 
might  not  want  to  trust  me  with  seven  or  eight 
thousand  dollars  worth  of  goods.  This  is  because 
converted  Jews  are  looked  upon  by  their  uncon¬ 
verted  brethren  as  nothing  but  the  lowest  kind  of 
hypocrites,  and  rogues. 

Therefore,  I  went  back  and  told  him  about  my 

faith  in  Christ.  He  was  rather  touched  with  my 

frankness,  but  told  me  it  made  no  difference  what- 

75 


76 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


ever  to  him  what  God  I  worshipped;  he  knew  I 
was  honest,  and  would  attend  to  the  business,  which 
was  his  only  concern! 

The  next  day  we  secured  the  store  that  had  been 
spoken  for  and  started  to  do  the  necessary  buying. 
A  relative  of  my  employer,  a  man  about  forty 
years  of  age,  who  had  just  come  West,  was  going 
with  me  as  my  assistant.  All  matters  finally  being 
arranged,  we  started  for  the  gold  fields  with  our 
new  enterprise,  reaching  our  destination  on  a 
Saturday  night.  As  the  stage-coach,  drawn  by  six 
horses,  ascended  the  top  of  the  last  hill,  what 
seemed  already  a  good-sized  town,  suddenly  came 
to  view,  street  lamps,  brightly-lighted  shops  of 
various  kinds,  and  saloons,  being  visible  every¬ 
where.  We  stopped  in  front  of  the  post-office,  with 
everything  pretty  well  shaken  out  of  us,  over  this 
rough  road,  except  our  appetites.  In  front  of  the 
post-office  we  found  quite  a  crowd  assembled, 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  stage.  A  shout  went 
up  from  the  crowd,  such  as  you  hear  in  the  city 
during  election  time  around  the  bulletin  boards 
when  the  returns  come  in.  My  companion,  who 
had  just  come  from  Chicago,  pushed  his  hat  back 
from  his  forehead,  then  wiping  the  perspiration 
from  his  face,  remarked :  “  This  is  the  kind  of 
place  I’ve  been  looking  for.” 

We  arrived  at  the  hotel  just  in  time  to  secure 
the  last  room  with  hut  one  bed  in  it.  However, 
we  were  thankful  for  that,  for  many  found  neither 


STOREKEEPING  IN  MOJAVE  DESERT  77 


room  nor  bed  that  night.  After  getting  something 
to  eat,  we  prepared  for  a  good  night’s  rest. 

It  had  been  my  habit  to  kneel  in  prayer  before 
retiring,  yet  in  the  face  of  my  companion  I  halted. 
He  was  a  very  worldly  man  and  very  profane.  I 
had  not  the  grace  in  his  presence  to  perform  my 
duty  as  had  been  my  custom.  Instead,  I  resolved 
to  pray  in  bed,  silently.  I  failed,  however,  in  this 
as  well;  my  heart  seemed  cold  and  hard  as  stone, 
and  I  could  not  pray.  In  this  state  I  finally  fell 
asleep.  In  the  morning  I  awoke  feeling  very  much 
condemned,  with  a  strong  conviction  that  I  ought 
to  have  knelt  in  prayer  and  should  not  have  per¬ 
mitted  the  presence  of  this  man  to  hinder  me  in 
acknowledging  my  Lord.  However,  instead  of  con¬ 
fessing  my  wrong  unto  God  and  walking  henceforth 
in  the  light,  I  was  thinking  of  going  to  church, 
hoping  the  service  might  soothe  my  troubled  con¬ 
science. 

Breakfast  being  over,  my  companion  lit  his  cigar, 
then  invited  me  to  walk  up  the  road  with  him.  I 
begged  to  be  excused,  saying  I  would  rather  stay 
at  home  and  read.  This,  however,  was  not  true;  I 
was  ashamed  now  to  acknowledge  to  this  man  that 
I  intended  going  to  church. 

I  am  relating  these  facts  to  show  how  cunningly 
the  devil  works  to  deceive  one  who  is  trying  to 
serve  God,  hoping  my  experience  may  help  other 
young  converts  to  overcome  where  I  was  defeated. 

After  my  assistant  had  gone,  I  went  out  to  look 


78 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


for  a  church.  There  appeared  only  one  steeple  in 
the  whole  place  and  the  bell  was  tolling  at  the  time. 
I  went  in.  The  place  was  still  empty.  I  took  my 
seat,  thinking  that  either  I  was  too  early  for  the 
service  or  else  the  people  here  were  so  wicked  they 
did  not  go  to  church  at  all,  for  it  was  a  very  rough 
place. 

In  a  few  minutes,  however,  a  lady  and  a  little 
girl  came  in,  making  three  in  all,  and  we  made 
up  the  congregation. 

In  a  short  time  a  hell  rang  and  a  door  opened  in 
the  rear  and  the  minister  entered.  Dressed  in  a 
peculiar  black  garment,  he  came  forward  to  the 
pulpit,  bowed,  went  back  and  bowed  again,  then 
turning  to  the  sides  he  did  likewise;  stepping  to  the 
pulpit,  he  read  something  in  a  foreign  language  I 
did  not  understand,  then  he  read  a  Psalm  in  En¬ 
glish.  This  kind  of  service  was  all  new  to  me,  and 
from  what  I  could  judge  of  the  other  two  it  seemed 
as  new  to  them. 

This  church  service  brought  me  no  comfort  or 
consolation,  but  to  the  contrary  left  me  in  a  worse 
state  than  I  had  been  before.  At  the  end  of  a  very 
miserable  day,  I  heard  there  was  another  church, 
and  had  no  trouble  in  finding  it.  Long  before 
reaching  the  place  at  eight  o’clock  that  evening  I 
heard  the  singing  of  a  very  familiar  hymn,  and,  oh, 
how  good  it  sounded.  It  was  to  me  truly  like  a 
spring  of  refreshing  water  to  a  weary  traveler  in 


STOREKEEPING  IN  MOJAVE  DESERT  79 


a  dry  and  thirsty  land.  When  I  came  near  enough, 
I  could  hear  the  words  of  the  last  verse  and  chorus : 

“And  drops  of  grief  can  ne’er  repay 
The  debt  of  love  I  owe; 

Dear  Lord,  I  give  myself  away, 

’Tis  all  that  I  can  do. 

At  the  Cross,  at  the  Cross  where  I  first  saw  the  light, 
And  the  burden  of  my  heart  rolled  away, 

It  was  there  by  faith  I  received  my  sight, 

And  now  I  am  happy  all  the  day.” 

This  song  not  only  reached  my  ear,  but  my  heart 
as  well,  it  brought  the  Cross  with  all  its  scenes  be- 
fore  me;  I  saw  my  Lord  again,  dying  in  agony 
for  my  sins,  and  I  cried  in  anguish,  “  How  could 
I  ever  deny  Him  ?  ” 

By  this  time  I  was  at  the  door  of  the  church. 
It  was  a  rough,  wooden  building  of  the  crudest 
sort,  hut  the  glory  of  God  that  pervaded  it  made  it 
most  beautiful. 

It  would  accommodate  comfortably  perhaps  two 
hundred  people,  yet  there  must  have  been  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  crowded  inside,  besides  a  goodly 
number  on  the  outside.  I  could  get  no  further  than 
the  door.  The  minister,  an  old  man  with  white 
hair  and  beard,  said,  “  Let  us  pray.”  The  words 
had  hardly  left  his  lips  when  three  or  four  began 
to  pray  at  the  same  time,  while  others  shouted, 
“  Praise  the  Lord!  ”  “  Hallelujah !  ”  and  I  said,  as 
did  my  companion,  when  we  reached  the  post-office, 
“  This  is  the  place  I?ve  been  looking  for.”  Here 
I  had  a  chance  to  pour  out  my  heart  before  God 


80  OUT  OE  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


in  prayer.  When  the  prayer  service  was  over,  sev¬ 
eral  more  hymns  were  sung.  The  children  sang 
with  their  mothers ;  the  fathers,  most  of  them  strong, 
robust  miners,  joined  in  with  their  strong,  bass 
voices.  It  seemed  to  me  I  never  heard  sweeter 
singing.  My  soul  was  blessed,  my  spirit  revived  in 
this  service. 

The  minister,  an  old  man,  and  lame,  leaning 
upon  his  heavy  cane,  read  from  the  twenty-sixth 
chapter  of  Matthew :  “  Peter  said  unto  him, 

Though  I  should  die  with  thee,  yet  will  I  not  deny 
thee.  Likewise  also  said  all  the  disciples.” 

From  the  beginning  of  his  sermon  to  the  end, 
this  dear,  old  man  seemed  to  relate  my  own  experi¬ 
ences.  How  strange,  I  thought,  that  he  should  take 
that  text!  When  he  told  how  Jesus  looked  at 
Peter  when  passing  and  how  Peter’s  heart  was 
broken,  I  felt  Jesus  looking  at  me,  and,  like  poor 
Peter,  my  heart  was  broken,  and  I  wept. 

I  slept  very  little  that  night.  The  next  morn¬ 
ing,  instead  of  going  to  my  breakfast,  I  called  on 
this  minister,  introduced'  myself  to  him  and  told 
him  of  my  peculiar  experience.  The  kindly  old 
man  listened  to  me  very  attentively,  and  then  read 
a  portion  out  of  the  Bible,  made  a  few  remarks  on 
the  portion  of  Scripture  he  had  read,  and  asked 
me  to  pray  and  told  me  to  confess  my  shortcomings 
to  God.  I  did  so  and  the  Lord  heard  my  prayer 
because  the  joy  and  peace  I  had  lost  returned  to 
my  soul.  I  immediately  went  back  to  the  hotel, 


STOREKEEPING  IN  MOJAVE  DESERT  81 


told  my  Jewish  friend  how  I  believed  in  the  Lord 
Jesus.  This  more  than  surprised  him,  but  our  re¬ 
lations  from  that  moment  became  changed.  The 
devil  was  defeated,  and  I  had  the  victory.  I  had 
the  liberty  to  pray  before  him,  read  the  Bible,  sing 
hymns,  or  do  anything  else  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
My  new  attitude  had  a  wonderful  effect  on  him. 
To  my  utter  surprise,  he  stopped  his  profanity  in 
my  presence,  and  he  became  very  inquisitive,  want¬ 
ing  to  know  all  about  my  conversion.  This  offered 
me  splendid  opportunities. 

We  soon  arranged  our  stock,  and  in  a  few  days 
opened  our  doors  for  business.  Although  very 
different  from  the  city,  we  soon  accustomed  our¬ 
selves  to  the  ways  of  the  place.  There  were  neither 
law  nor  order  here,  though  provision  had  been  made 
for  both ;  drunkenness,  revelry ,  screams  of  “  mur¬ 
der/’  fights,  and  so  forth,  became  very  common  and 
ordinary ;  so  much  so  that  in  a  little  while  we  would 
scarcely  look  out  of  the  window  at  the  report  of 
pistol  shots,  or  heed  the  screams  of  women. 

To  say  the  least,  it  was  a  rough  life.  Eor  in¬ 
stance,  the  constable  of  the  place  was  also  the  pro¬ 
prietor  of  two  saloons,  and  the  principal  stock¬ 
holder  of  two  others.  When  you  wanted  this  cus¬ 
todian  of  the  peace,  you  had  to  hunt  for  him  in  the 
saloons,  with  slim  chances  of  finding  him,  for  he 
was  a  very  busy  man.  The  judge,  or  the  gentle¬ 
man  filling  this  office,  also  filled  another  important 
position,  namely,  that  of  “  faro  dealer  ”  in  a  gam- 


82 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


bling  den ;  when  not  on  duty  on  the  bench  in  court, 
he  could  always  be  found  at  his  post  in  the  back 
part  of  a  saloon,  dealing  out  cards. 

Neither  was  this  state  of  corruption  confined  to 
the  town  officials  of  law  and  justice,  but  a  certain 
head  official  of  a  church  under  the  guise  of  min¬ 
ister  was  wallowing  with  them  in  the  mire.  This 
gentleman  boarded  at  a  French  restaurant  and  at 
meal-times  could  always  be  found  with  a  bottle  of 
wine  beside  his  plate.  If  you  wanted  to  find  him 
between  meals,  you  would  have  to  look  for  him  in 
the  saloons.  It  was  not  hard,  however,  to  locate 
him,  on  account  of  his  corpulent  figure,  black 
clothes  and  high  collar.  Then,  too,  a  big  dog  was 
his  constant  companion. 

In  conversation,  one  day,  this  minister  gave  me 
his  reason  for  spending  so  much  of  his  time  in  the 
saloons.  u  I  have  to  visit  the  members  of  my 
flock/’  he  said ;  “  since  I  cannot  find  them  at  their 
homes,  I  feel  it  is  my  duty  to  call  on  them  where  I 
can  find  them;  by  having  a  social  glass  with  them, 
they  are  encouraged  to  keep  in  good  faith !  ” 
Whatever  he  meant  by  this  “  good  faith  ”  I  can¬ 
not  tell,  and  I  doubt  whether  he  knew. 

My  experience  in  this  mining  camp  gave  me  a 
little  foretaste  of  what  this  world  will  be  like  when 
the  Christian  spirit  is  taken  out  of  it  and  the  devil 
allowed  to  have  full  sway  without  restriction. 

Our  business  increased  right  along,  and  the 
weekly  reports  to  my  employer  showed  up  splen- 


STOREKEEPING  IN  MOJAVE  DESERT  S3 


didly,  giving  him  the  utmost  satisfaction.  Ilis  let¬ 
ters  to  me  were  always  of  a  pleasing,  satisfactory 
character.  As  I  was  working  on  salary  and  com¬ 
mission,  it  was  therefore  to  my  interest,  as  well  as 
to  his,  that  the  business  increased. 

In  the  meantime  I  continued  to  attend  the  ser¬ 
vices  at  the  Church  where  the  Lord  had  so  wonder¬ 
fully  blessed  me  the  first  night.  We  met  together 
on  Thursday  and  Sunday  nights  only.  There  was 
a  service  Sunday  mornings  as  well,  hut  only  few 
attended,  as  on  that  day  everything  here  was  wide 
open,  stores,  saloons,  and  some  of  the  mines  were 
running.  Indeed,  this  was  often  the  best  day 
financially. 


IX 


MEETING  THE  SALVATION  ARMY 


AFTER  we  had  been  there  six  or  seven 
months  a  Salvation  Army  Band,  directed 
by  Major  George  Wood,  came  and  held 
tent  meetings.  I  had  heard  a  good  deal  about  these 
people,  had  sometimes  noticed  them  in  the  streets 
of  the  cities,  but  until  now  had  never  come  in  touch 
with  them  personally.  They  pitched  their  tent  in 
a  field  behind  our  store  and  “  opened  fire,”  as 
they  called  it.  Each  person  was  a  musician,  a 
singer,  and  a  preacher.  They  marched  through  the 
camp,  and  I  thought  that  everybody  who  could 
walk,  followed  them,  for  they  had  quite  a  long  pro¬ 
cession.  When  I  saw  our  dear  old  minister,  with 
his  white  head  and  beard,  taking  up  the  rear  of  the 
march,  limping  along  leaning  on  his  heavy  cane, 
I  thought  that  even  those  that  couldn’t  walk  were 
following.  Finally  they  halted  before  the  notorious 
dance-hall  right  next  to  our  store.  Here  they  had 
an  open-air  service,  with  song,  testimonies  and 
music.  As  I  saw  gamblers,  harlots,  saloon-keepers, 
and  some  real  devil-possessed  people  standing 
around  this  open-air  ring  listening  attentively, 

and  some  whose  hearts  were  touched  at  the  testi- 

84 


MEETING  THE  SALVATION  ARMY  85 


monies  they  had  heard  wiping  the  tears  off  their 
cheeks,  I  said,  “  Praise  God!  If  the  Salvationists 
never  do  any  more  than  hold  this  one  meeting, 
surely  the  Lord  will  amply  reward  them.” 

I  became  intensely  interested,  and  attended  their 
meetings  in  the  tent.  During  their  stay  they  were 
frequently  at  our  store,  as  I  had  given  them  per¬ 
mission  to  leave  their  instruments  with  us.  They 
had  heard  my  testimony  at  their  meetings  and 
knew  that  I  was  a  Christian;  hence  they  wondered 
at  my  handling  tobacco  and  keeping  the  store  open 
on  Sundays,  though  they  said  very  little  about  it, 
only  this — Robert  Griffith,  first  cornetist,  leaning 
over  the  counter  one  morning,  said  to  me,  in  a  low 
tone  of  voice :  “  Brother  Abrams,  how  do  you  feel 
about  handling  tobacco  and  keeping  your  business 
open  on  Sunday  ?  ”  Yet  that  little  was  enough. 
The  seed  had  fallen  into  good  ground,  the  Lord 
watered  it,  and  before  long  it  began  to  spring  up. 

My  interest  and  my  conviction  increased.  My 
course  had  been  contrary  to  my  own  conscience  all 
the  time;  I  knew  it  was  wrong.  I  had  compro¬ 
mised  because  everybody  else  did  so  here:  now, 
however,  I  began  to  close  my  store  Sundays  and 
went  to  church. 

After  three  weeks  of  closing  our  business  on 
Sundays  I  received  a  letter  from  my  employer  stat¬ 
ing  that  it  had  been  reported  to  him  that  I  closed 
the  store  on  Sundays,  was  neglecting  my  business, 
and  had  become  a  church  preacher.  I  wrote  and 


86 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


explained  my  position  to  him,  told  him  that  while 
it  was  true  that  I  closed  the  store  on  Sundays,  he 
had,  nevertheless,  been  misinformed  as  to  my 
neglecting  the  business;  my  receipts  proved  to  the 
contrary.  After  receiving  this  letter,  in  a  few  days 
he  came  to  see  me,  to  talk  the  matter  over.  He 
tried  his  best  to  convince  me  that  if  I  would  give 
up  my  “  church  business/’  as  he  termed  it,  and 
instead  of  attending  the  church,  mingle  freely  with 
the  saloon-keepers,  gamblers  and  fast  women,  he 
was  sure  the  business  would  double  in  a  short  time, 
and  before  long  I  would  have  a  business  of  my  own 
and  be  independent  of  anybody.  Of  course  we 
could  not  agree.  I  remembered  how  the  devil 
tempted  Jesus  in  the  wilderness  on  the  same  line 
when  “  he  showed  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world  and  the  glory  of  them;  and  said  unto  him, 
all  these  things  will  I  give  thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall 
down  and  worship  me.” 

I  saw  only  one  thing,  and  that  was:  “Fear  God 
and  keep  his  commandments,  this  is  the  whole 
duty  of  man.”  On  this  rock,  I  built  my  hopes, 
and  now  after  twenty  years’  experience,  I  must 
say  that  my  attitude  toward  God  has  not  changed 
in  the  least,  nor  have  I  in  any  w*ay  been  disap¬ 
pointed. 

My  employer  left  me  in  an  unsettled  state,  since 
we  were  unable  to  come  to  an  understanding.  In 
a  few  days,  I  received  quite  a  lengthy  letter  in 
which  he  went  over  the  ground  again,  winding  up 


MEETING  THE  SALVATION  ARMY  87 


by  saying  that  if  I  could  not  come  to  bis  terms  he 
should  then  be  obliged  to  make  a  change  of  man¬ 
agers.  As  I  could  by  no  means  comply  with  his 
wishes,  my  resignation  followed. 

After  two  weeks  he  came  down  with  a  gentle¬ 
man  whom  he  introduced  to  me  as  my  successor. 
We  took  inventory,  settled  up,  and  I  turned  the 
keys  over  to  him.  Once  more  the  devil  was  de¬ 
feated  and  I  had  the  victory.  “  Eor  what  shall  it 
profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose 
his  own  soul,  or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange 
for  his  soul  ?  ” 

I  started  back  for  Los  Angeles.  On  my  way 
there  I  stopped  off  at  San  Bernardino,  the  place  of 
my  conversion,  where,  also,  I  had  laid  to  rest  my 
dear  wife  and  my  precious  little  boy.  Arriving 
there  at  six  o’clock  in  the  morning,  I  at  once  made 
my  way  to  the  cemetery.  In  my  effort  to  locate 
the  burial  plot  I  seemed  rather  confused  as  to 
which  were  my  graves.  I  could  hardly  believe 
those  before  me  all  decorated  with  flowers  were 
mine,  until  convinced  by  the  headboards  bearing 
their  names.  But  who  could  have  been  so  kind  in 
my  long  absence  as  to  have  placed  here  such  beau¬ 
tiful,  fresh  flowers?  To  me  it  surely  proved  a 
most  kindly  token  of  love.  As-  I  knelt  there  in 
prayer  my  heart  fairly  overflowed  with  gratitude 
and  praise  to  God  for  all  His  mercies,  and  I  espe¬ 
cially  asked  His  blessing  upon  the  tender  heart 
and  gentle  hands  who  in  kindness  and  love  had  re- 


88  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


membered  my  dear  ones.  On  my  return  from  the 
cemetery  I  made  my  way  down  a  narrow  lane  into 
an  alley;  there  among  a  lot  of  small  wooden  cot¬ 
tages  I  located  the  poor  washerwoman  who  was  the 
means  of  my  conversion.  Here  we  had  a  good 
season  of  prayer  and  the  Lord  blessed  our  souls. 
Here,  also,  I  discovered  that  she  was  the  one  who 
for  a  year  or  more  had  not  ceased  putting  fresh 
flowers  on  the  graves  of  my  departed  wife  and 
little  boy.  True  to  the  spirit  of  her  Master,  who 
“  having  loved  his  own  which  were  in  the  world 
he  loved  them  unto  the  end.”  I  in  turn  felt 
toward  this  woman  for  her  kindly  deed  as  did  the 
Lord  toward  the  woman  who  had  poured  upon  Him 
the  box  of  very  precious  ointment,  saying:  “  Wher¬ 
ever  this  gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the  whole 
world,  there  shall  also  this,  that  this  woman  hath 
done,  be  told  for  a  memorial  of  her.” 

On  my  return  to  Los  Angeles  there  followed  a 
long  season  of  trials,  hardships,  misunderstandings 
and  humiliations.  At  times  it  did  seem  as  though 
the  furnace  had  truly  been  heated  “  seven  times 
hotter  than  it  had  ever  been  heated  before.”  In 
my  distress  I  often  felt  like  saying  with  David, 
“  Hath  God  forgotten  to  be  gracious  ?  Hath  he  in 
anger  shut  up  his  tender  mercies  ?  ” 

Yet  through  this  experience  I  learned  in  a  prac¬ 
tical  way  that  -our  going  through  the  fire  is,  after 
all,  good  for  the  soul.  It  refines  it  and  brings  the 
dross  to  the  surface. 


MEETING  THE  SALVATION  ARMY  89 


This,  I  saw,  is  God’s  purifying  process  through 
which  even  the  Lord  Himself  had  to  pass, 
“  Though  he  were  a  son  yet  learned  he  obedience 
by  the  things  he  suffered.”  “And  through  suffer¬ 
ing  was  the  captain  of  our  Salvation  made  per¬ 
fect.”  Of  this  suffering,  we  are  told,  all  the  sons 
of  God  are  partakers.  “  For  whom  the  Lord  loveth 
he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he 
reeeiveth.”  I  therefore  resigned  myself  submis¬ 
sively,  .and  in  the  language  of  the  poet  I  said: 

“  So  wash  me,  Thou,  without,  within, 

Or  purge  with  fire,  if  that  must  be. 

No  matter  how,  if  only  sin, 

Die  out  in  me,  die  out  in  me/’ 

God  is  shaping  our  lives,  moulding  our  charac¬ 
ters,  and  making  us  Christlike,  and  ofttimes  it  is 
better  for  us  that  the  stress  should  not  be  lessened, 
and  the  burden  not  be  lightened,  and  that  the  storm 
should  be  allowed  to  blow  and  the  struggle  go  on. 

In  gloomy  days  and  dark  hours,  I  often  won¬ 
dered  if  Christ  really  loved  me,  and  why  He  did 
not  come  to  my  relief?  But  now,  as  I  look  back 
I  can  see  plainly  that  in  this  very  delay  He  mani¬ 
fested  His  great  love  for  me.  And  the  reason  why 
He  did  not  answer  me  when  I  cried  was  the  same 
as  why  God  did  not  answer  Him  when  in  His  dark 
hour  He  cried :  “  My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  ?  ”  We  are  likewise  to  be  crucified 
in  the  flesh  to  the  things  of  the  world,  and  it  is 
hard  for  the  natural  man  to  die.  He  struggles 


90 


OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


against  the  thorns,  the  cross,  and  the  nails.  Oh ! 
how  difficult  it  really  is  to  attain  unto  that  meek 
and  gentle  spirit  He  manifested  when  “  He  was 
led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  be¬ 
fore  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his 
mouth.” 

After  I  had  been  six  months  away  from  the  busi¬ 
ness  I  had  left  in  the  mining  camp,  I  heard  news 
that  did  not  at  all  surprise  me.  The  young  man 
who  had  succeeded  me  as  manager  of  the  store 
turned  out  to  be  the  exact  sort  of  man  my  employer 
wanted  me  to  he.  He  had  freely  mingled  with 
saloon-keepers,  gamblers,  and  such  like,  and  in  con¬ 
sequence  after  six  months  there  was  not  much  left 
of  the  stock  or  of  the  business.  This  young  man 
had  spent  his  time  in  saloons  and  gambling  dens, 
and  his  money,  or  rather  his  employer’s,  in  fast 
living.  The  owner  went  down,  discharged  the 
young  man,  sold  what  goods  he  could,  packed  up 
the  balance,  and  locked  the  door,  being  the  loser  of 
a  considerable  sum. 

In  this  time  of  perplexity,  a  friend  heard  of  my 
difficulty  and  came  to  offer  me  his  assistance.  I 
had  formed  his  acquaintance  some  years  before, 
when  he,  himself,  was  in  great  trouble,  and  really 
helpless.  I  was,  fortunately,  at  that  time  in  posi¬ 
tion  to  render  him  the  assistance  he  sorely  needed. 
He  was  now  in  a  prosperous  business  at  a  summer 
resort,  not  far  from  Los  Angeles,  and  he  came  to 


MEETING  THE  SALVATION  ARMY  91 


the  city  to  look  me  up.  He  told  me  that  he  had 
not  forgotten  my  kindness  to  him  in  the  past,  and 
was  only  waiting  for  a  proper  opportunity  when 
he  could  show  his  appreciation  in  a  practical  man¬ 
ner.  He  insisted  upon  my  going  with  him  to  his 
home  to  rest  awhile,  for  he  saw  that  I  was  in  need 
of  it  for  mind  and  body.  I  accepted  the  invitation 
gladly.  Both  he  and  his  wife,  although  not  pro¬ 
fessed  Christians,  did  all  they  possibly  could  in 
love  and  kindness,  to  make  my  stay  with  them  com¬ 
fortable  and'  pleasant. 

He  talked  with  me  freely  over  the  various  de¬ 
tails  of  his  business,  showed  me  his  books,  and  then 
made  the  splendid  proposal  that  I  come  in  with 
him  as  partner,  offering  me  half  interest  in  the 
business  without  a  cent  of  investment  on  my  part. 
I  thought  surely  no  man  could  treat  another  more 
generously  than  that. 

I  could  see  at  once  the  help  I  could  be  to  him, 
and  the  alluring  possibilities  that  there  were  before 
us  both  for  the  future  in  this  business.  I  did  not, 
however,  give  my  consent  at  once,  as  I  wished  first 
to  consult  the  Lord  in  prayer  before  deciding. 

When  my  friend  showed  me  the  various  details 
of  the  business,  we  came  to  the  ice-cream  parlour. 
“  Here,”  said  lie,  “  is  the  place  where  the  money 
is  made.”  This  had  originally  been  a  large  hall, 
but  was  now  divided  by  means  of  partitions  into 
small  apartments,  each  apartment  being  entirely 
private,  where,  however,  not  only  ice  cream  but 


92  OUT  OU  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


also  beer,  wine,  or  any  other  kind  of  strong  drinks 
could  be  indulged  in.  These  beverages  were  being 
supplied  from  the  saloon  next  door  by  means  of  a 
hole  in  the  wall,  so  cunningly  arranged  with  a  slide 
door  that,  when  shut,  it  was  invisible.  When  I 
went  before  God  in  prayer  that  night,  all  the  busi¬ 
ness  seemed  to  vanish  except  the  hole  in  the  wall 
and  the  ice-cream  parlour.  This  last  remained  be¬ 
fore  me  and  assumed  an  importance  greater  than 
all  the  rest  of  the  business  combined. 

This  fact  alone,  however,  would  not  have  been 
sufficient  at  this  time  of  great  need  to  restrain  me 
from  entering  into  this  temptation,  as  there  ap¬ 
peared  to  me  various,  and,  from  a  worldly  point  of 
view,  excellent  reasons  for  taking  advantage  of  this 
promising  opportunity.  First  there  was  the  perse¬ 
cution  of  my  own  people,  the  Jews.  Next  there 
were  the  ridicule  and  scorn  of  unconverted  Gen¬ 
tiles,  and  last,  but  not  least,  there  was  the  support 
of  myself  and  child.  Here  before  me  I  saw  the  op¬ 
portunity  of  being  relieved  of  all  my  troubles  at 
one  stroke.  Indeed,  was  it  not  God’s  answer  to  my 
prayers?  For  I  had  prayed  earnestly  'to  be  deliv¬ 
ered  out  of  my  financial  difficulties,  and  what  could 
have  been  more  reasonable  than  to  suppose  that  this 
friend’s  kindly  offer,  just  at  this  time,  had  really 
come  in  answer  to  my  prayer  ? 

The  night  before,  however,  God  had,  in  a  dream, 
graciously  revealed  to  me  this  very  temptation,  and 
my  great  danger.  I  did  not,  however,  understand 


MEETING  THE  SALVATION  ARMY  93 


my  dream,  although.  I  was  deeply  impressed  with 
it,  and  had  reflected  much  upon  it  during  the  day, 
— hut  when  I  went  before  God  that  night  in  prayer, 
I  saw  my  dream  of  the  previous  night  clearly,  and 
it  required  no  Daniel  to  interpret  it,  for  the  inter¬ 
pretation  lay  in  this  alluring  business  oppor¬ 
tunity. 

Realizing,  unmistakably,  how  God  had  foreseen 
my  danger  and  had  warned  me  against  it,  I  was 
fairly  overcome  with  His  wonderful  love  and  could 
do  nothing  but  praise  Him.  I  was,  however, 
“through”  with  this  business  opportunity;  I  had 
the  victory  and  the  devil  again  was  defeated. 

I  was  sorry  to  disappoint  my  friend,  but  I  told 
him  that  under  no  condition  could  I  accept  his 
offer,  kind  and  promising  though  it  was.  Both  he 
and  his  wife  regretted  my  action  very  much  and 
felt  greatly  disappointed  at  my  rejecting  their 
offer,  and  still  held  out  before  me  the  alluring  pos¬ 
sibilities  that  were  in  store  for  us  both.  The  grace 
of  God,  however,  was  sufficient.  He  gave  me  the 
power  to  resist  temptation. 

It  was  some  time  before  I  was  able  to  secure 
any  position  in  Los  Angeles,  as  by  this  time  the 
doors  were  not  only  barred  against  me  by  the  J ews, 
but  the  Gentile  business  firms,  seeing  I  did  not 
hold  a  position  long,  became  suspicious  of  me  also. 


X 


TEIALS  AHD  DIFFICULTIES 

FOE  me,  these  were  very  trying  times.  I 
kept  my  heart  right  with  God,  however, 
and  waited  patiently  on  the  Lord  for  His 
guidance.  I  saw  that  to  he  a  Christian,  this  was 
my  only  course  to  pursue,  no  matter  what  the  con¬ 
sequences.  I  had  no  trade  I  could  take  up,  and 
for  manual  labour  I  was  physically  unfit.  Often 
I  wished  I  were  a  tentmaker,  or  had  some  other 
profession  I  could  follow,  enabling  me  to  go  about 
preaching  the  gospel,  supporting  myself  by  my  own 
handiwork,  as  did  the  Apostle  Paul.  In  the  mean¬ 
time  I  attended  every  revival  meeting  which  came 
to  my  notice.  Here  I  had  the  opportunity  of  in¬ 
vesting  what  spiritual  values  I  possessed  where  it 
could  bring  forth  returns  for  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
Helping  others  into  the  Christian  life,  greatly 
helped  me  in  my  own  soul  and  strengthened  my 
own  faith  in  God ;  by  its  exercise  I  became  stronger 
in  the  Lord. 

A  very  interesting  experience  came  to  me  during 
this  trying  time.  Dr.  Brazee,  of  the  Hazarene 
Church  in  Los  Angeles,  was  holding  a  ten-day  re¬ 
vival  campaign  in  his  church;  conducted  by  the 

Eev.  W.  Morrison.  These  meetings  I  attended 

94 


TRIALS  AND  DIFFICULTIES 


95 


regularly.  On  Saturday  morning  of  that  week,  I 
invested  the  last  five  cents,  all  my  capital,  at  a 
bakery  for  buns.  One  of  these  I  ate  that  morning, 
reserving  the  remaining  ones  for  some  future  time, 
hiding  them  as  the  squirrel  does  his  little  nuts. 
The  following  day,  Sunday,  I  spent  all  day  at  theso 
revival  services.  Souls  came  forward  in  all  the 
meetings  to  accept  Christ.  I  had  been  kept  busy 
and  interested  in  dealing  with  others,  and  had  for¬ 
gotten  all  about  myself.  At  night,  however,  on  my 
way  home  from  the  meeting  I  realized  that  I  was 
hungry.  On  discovering  this,  I  increased  my  pace 
in  order  to  get  home  the  more  quickly,  remember¬ 
ing  the  buns  which  awaited  me. 

As  I  went  along,  the  devil  overtook  me ;  he 
seemed  to  walk  beside  me,  almost  in  human  form ; 
he  seemed  much  interested  in  me.  He  was  very 
anxious  to  advise  me  as  to  my  best  welfare  for  the 
future.  At  first  he  sympathized  with  me  for  being 
weak  and  hungry;  then  he  began  to  accuse  Chris¬ 
tians  for  their  indifference  and  lack  of  interest  in 
me.  He  intimated  that  if  all  those  people  who  had 
given  such  glowing  testimonies  in  those  church  ser¬ 
vices  all  day  were  really  Christians,  I  should  not 
be  going  home  hungry. 

“  Don’t  you  see  ?  ”  he  said,  “  that  they  are  all 
hypocrites ;  there  is  nothing  real  at  all  in  this  thing, 
and  with  all  the  rest  of  them  you  are  deceived.” 

This,  however,  was  no  news  to  me  at  all.  I  had 
always  heard  from  childhood  that  Christ  was  a  de- 


96  OUT  OF,  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


ceiver  and  an  impostor,  and  that  the  poor  Gentiles 
who  were  not  familiar  with  the  law  of  Moses,  be¬ 
came  an  easy  prey  to  this  deception;  the  Jews,  he 
said,  were  the  only  people  who  were  right  in  their 
religious  views  for  they  always  had  the  law  and 
the  prophets  to  guide  them.  For  a  moment  it 
stunned  me,  it  looked  plausible  and  seemed  like  a 
temptation  to  me.  I  was  weak  and  hungry.  That 
certainly  was  true. 

Suddenly,  however,  recovering  as  if  from  a 
dream,  I  realized  the  truth.  I  saw  the  devil  was 
a  liar.  He  had  overstepped  his  mark.  There  was 
not  a  single  soul  among  all  those  Christians  in  that 
vast  congregation  that  knew  anything  about  my  cir¬ 
cumstances,  while  there  were  many  with  whom  I 
was  well  acquainted,  yet  not  one  of  them  knew  any¬ 
thing  about  my  true  condition.  I  always  dressed 
neat  and  clean  while  my  clothes  lasted,  and  to  all 
appearances  there  was  no  reason  for  anyone  to 
have  even  suspected  my  being  in  such  dire  need. 
In  fact,  it  was  my  earnest  desire  to  prevent  anyone 
finding  it  out.  Had  my  true  condition  been  known, 
there  were  scores  of  people  who  would  most  gladly 
have  done  anything  in  their  power  to  help  me.  I 
had  heard  it  said  how  some  Christians  had  been 
deceived  and  disappointed  in  Jews  who  had  claimed 
to  be  converted  to  Christianity.  “  This,”  I  said, 
“  shall  never  be  said  of  this  converted  Jew.”  I 
actually  feared  some  might  discover  my  need  and 
would  want  to  aid  me.  I  was  still  too  proud  in 


TRIALS  AND  DIFFICULTIES 


07 


heart  to  accept  any  help.  God  evidently  had  seen 
my  foolish  pride  and  my  need  of  humiliation  and 
had  permitted  this  very  experience  to  come  to  me 
to  teach  me  some  lessons.  Again  the  devil  seemed 
to  say :  “  You  don’t  have  to  be  tortured  like  this, 
going  hungry.  God  never  intended  anyone  to  go 
hungry  for  His  sake.  You  still  have  your  facul¬ 
ties.  Throw  up  the  whole  business  of  your  Chris¬ 
tian  profession;  go  back  to  your  Jewish  friends; 
tell  them  the  awful  mistake  you  have  made.  They 
will  be  glad  to  take  you  back,  and  you  will  soon 
again  have  a  respectable  position,  earn  your  own 
bread  and  butter  and  be  independent  of  anyone; 
don’t  be  a  fool.”  This  was  too  much  for  me.  I 
stopped  in  the  road,  turned  on  my  adversary,  the 
devil,  and  said  audibly:  “  You  miserable  devil! 
That  is  the  way  you  deceived  poor  Judas,  who  sold 
his  Lord  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  then  went  and 
hanged  himself.”  At  this  juncture  I  again  saw 
my  Lord  as  I  had  seen  Him  in  the  vision  of  that 
first  night. 

I  continued  my  journey  home,  heart-broken.  I 
remembered  how  my  Lord  had  suffered  for  the  re¬ 
demption  of  my  soul.  How  He  again  and  again 
had  gone  hungry,  and  had  no  place  where  to  lay 
His  head,  often  spending  whole  nights  alone  in  the 
mountains.  I  said :  u  Lord,  forgive  me !  ”  Some¬ 
how  the  devil  left  me  and  I  had  the  victory.  On 
reaching  my  room  I  immediately  dropped  on  my 
knees  beside  my  bed  in  prayer,  before  even  light- 


98  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


ing  the  lamp.  God  wonderfully  came  to  me  and 
•blessed  my  soul;  I  bad  tbe  victory.  I  remember 
closing  my  prayer,  saying :  “  Lord,  if  I  can  better 
glorify  Tbee  by  starvation,  Tby  will  be  done.” 
Arising  from  my  knees  I  lit  my  lamp.  To  my 
utter  amazement  and  wonder  I  saw  before  me  on 
tbe  dresser  a  plate  of  fruit  and  a  plate  of  nice 
sandwiches.  This  appeared  to  me  to  be  a  miracle, 
as  though  an  angel  from  heaven  bad  brought  them. 
I  could  hardly  believe  my  eyes,  and  actually  felt 
tbe  fruit  to  find  out  if  it  were  real.  I  could  not 
understand  bow  these  things  could  have  come  there. 
Such  a  thing  bad  never  happened  before. 

The  next  morning  the  mystery  was  solved.  I 
roomed  with  an  old  couple,  an  ex-minister  and  his 
wife;  they  were  most  devoted  Christians,  most 
kind  and  considerate,  and  very  much  interested  in 
my  welfare.  Yet  even  they  did  not  know  my  real 
need,  as  I  had  never  told  them.  The  next  morning, 
however,  Mrs.  Hallowell  insisted  that  I  have  break¬ 
fast  with  them.  Breakfast,  and  the  usual  morning 
worship  being  over,  Mrs.  Hallowell  took  me  to  task 
and  pressed  me  to  ted  her  how  long  I  had  been 
without  food.  I  was  shocked  at  her  question,  yet 
I  did  not  desire  to  be  untruthful.  She  had  always 
shown  the  keenest  interest  in  me  and  I  respected 
her  very  highly.  I  tried  very  hard  to  evade  telling 
her  the  real  truth. 

Finally  I  said  to  her:  “  Why  do  you  ask  me  this 
question  ?  ” 


TRIALS  AND  DIFFICULTIES 


99 


u  Well,”  she  said,  u  I’ll  tell  you,  my  dear  boy, 
why  I  ask.  Last  night  as  I  prepared  for  bed  a 
voice  seemed  to  whisper,  ‘Abrams  is  going  hun¬ 
gry.’  I  could  not  believe  it  for  a  time,  but  the 
whisper  came  again  and  again,  and  still  I  put  it 
from  me.  I  finally  retired  for  the  night,  feeling 
assured  that  this  could  not  be  true.  I  could  not 
go  to  sleep,  however,  for  the  voice  continued  to 
whisper,  ‘Abrams  is  going  hungry.’ 

“  After  tossing  about  for  some  time  in  bed,  I 
finally  got  up,  saying,  ‘  All  right,  Lord,  if  the  boy 
is  hungry,  I’ll  see  to  it  that  he  has  something  to 
eat.’  I  partly  dressed,  went  to  the  cupboard,  fixed 
some  sandwiches  and  a  little  fruit  and  took  it  to 
your  room.  Did  you  get  it  ?  ” 

My  heart  was  full,  but  I  managed  to  answer: 
“  Yes,  Mrs.  ITallowell,  thank  you,  I  did.” 

On  my  return  to  Los  Angeles  I  finally  gave  up 
all  hope  of  securing  any  position  as  salesman.  I 
therefore  made  up  my  mind  to  take  any  kind  of 
work  my  hands  might  find  to  do,  and  to  do  it  with 
all  my  might,  as  unto  the  Lord.  I  soon  obtained 
a  position  at  a  hotel  at  Echo  Mountain,  3,000  feet 
above  sea  level.  This  elevation,  however,  was  no 
hindrance  to  God’s  power  and  presence,  as  we 
shall  see. 

A  family  had  volunteered  to  take  charge  of  my 
child  until  I  attained  to  better  circumstances,  for 
which,  of  course,  I  was  very  thankful.  Filling  this 
position  at  the  hotel  for  a  few  weeks,  I  dreamed 


100  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


one  night  I  was  in  the  spirit.  My  wife,  who  had 
been  dead  some  time,  was  also  in  the  spirit,  and 
we  were  beside  three  little  boys,  one  of  which  was 
our  own,  and  another  belonging  to  the  family 
where  he  was  staying  at  the  time;  the  third  was  a 
neighbour’s  boy.  These  three  little  fellows  were 
on  their  way  to  Kindergarten,  accompanied  by  my 
wife  on  one  side  and  myself  on  the  other.  We 
did  not  walk,  but  I  cannot  say  by  what  power  we 
traveled.  My  wife  and  I  seemed  to  know  that  the 
boys  could  not  see  us,  but  we  saw  them  and  heard 
their  conversation,  and  heard  them  as  plainly  as 
if  we  had  walked  beside  them  in  the  flesh.  They 
were  all  using  very  profane  language,  and  to  hear 
our  child  entering  into  such  conversation  was  a 
severe  shock  to  us  both.  His  mother  looked  very 
sad  and  disappointedly  at  me. 

I  woke  up  at  this  point  very  much  troubled,  I 
realized  it  was  the  voice  of  God  showing  me,  in 
the  presence  of  my  wife,  the  dangerous  position  in 
which  our  child1  was.  I  had  no  rest,  much  as  I 
needed  the  work  and  much  as  I  wanted  to  keep  my 
position.  I  tried  to  make  arrangements  to  have 
my  child  with  me,  but  failed  in  the  effort.  After 
a  ten-days’  struggle  I  resigned  my  position,  unable 
to  endure  the  anguish  any  longer,  and  went  down 
the  incline,  from  the  mountain,  but  up  in  Christ 
and  love  to  God. 

Beaching  the  house  where  my  little  boy  was 
staying,  I  saw  him  playing  in  the  yard.  At  the 


TRIALS  AND  DIFFICULTIES 


101 


sound  of  my  whistle  he  looked  up  and  was  soon  in 
my  arms.  After  greeting  him  I  hinted  at  the  con¬ 
versation  I  had  heard  in  my  dream,  without  dis¬ 
closing  all  of  it.  He  looked  at  me  in  great  sur¬ 
prise,  and  with  the  expression  of  guilt  stamped 
upon  his  features.  I  recalled  to  him  the  day  and 
the  time  when,  in  my  dream,  this  incident  took 
place,  describing  to  him  the  clothes  he  and  the  other 
hoys  were  wearing  at  the  time.  Then  I  asked  him 
to  repeat  the  conversation  exactly.  Faltering,  and 
with  great  embarrassment,  he  gave  me  word  for 
word,  the  awful  language.  Every  word  was  as  I 
had  heard  it  that  night.  I  realized  that  God,  our 
Heavenly  Father,  had  loved  me  sufficiently  to 
actually  reveal  to  me  my  child’s  real  condition  and 
danger.  Needless  to  say,  I  looked  for  other  quar¬ 
ters  for  my  child.  Yes;  God  still  lives  to  guide 
His  people. 

At  this  time  a  Christian  lady,  who  was  com¬ 
fortably  situated,  came  to  my  aid.  She  had  heard 
of  my  desire  to  leave  Los  Angeles.  This  was  true. 
I  felt  I  had  been  there  long  enough  and  was  anx¬ 
ious  for  a  change.  This  lady  offered  to  take  charge 
of  my  child,  saying  she  was  all  alone,  and  that  she 
would  be  glad  to  take  the  responsibility  and  give 
him  the  best  of  care.  I  consented  to  this  kindly 
offer,  and  went  to  San  Francisco. 


XI 


SOUL-WINNING  EXPERIENCES 


A  CHRISTIAN  friend  in  Los  Angeles  liad 
given  me  a  letter  of  introduction  to  a 
prominent  business  man  in  San  Eran- 
cisco  wbo  was  a  Christian.  The  meeting  with  this 
gentleman  appeared  to  me  providential.  He  will 
perhaps  never  know  what  his  kindness  meant  to 
me  at  this  time. 

I  had  left  Los  Angeles  feeling  like  a  fugitive 
fleeing  from  justice,  full  of  fear  and  trouble,  hav¬ 
ing  been  hounded  by  persecution  until  I  had  no 
rest  for  the  soles  of  my  feet.  Yet  the  only  crime 
charged  against  me  was  a  belief  in  Christ.  The 
very  words  of  greeting  extended  to  me  by  this  man 
acted  like  a  balm  to  my  troubled  soul.  He  spoke 
to  me  kindly,  with  a  tenderness  in  his  voice  like  a 
father  soothing  his  troubled  child.  This  surprised 
me,  as  I  was  unaccustomed  to  such  kind  treatment. 
After  inquiring  as  to  my  plans  for  the  future,  he 
extended  an  invitation  to  me  to  go  home  with  him. 
This  invitation  was  very  acceptable. 

His  was  a  Christian  home  in  the  truest  sense. 
His  dear  wife  received  me  kindly,  and  made  me 

feel,  at  once,  th$t  I  was  a  welcome  guest.  And  the 

J0£ 


SOUL-WINNING  EXPERIENCES  103 


dear  children !  Of  these  there  were  no  fewer  than 
forty  or  fifty,  yet  only  one  their  own,  the  rest  being 
orphans  for  whom  they  cared.  But  you  could  not 
discern  this  one  from  the  rest — all  being  treated 
alike.  They  were  all  so  beautiful,  so  rosy,  so 
happy.  A  dozen  or  more  of  these  little  ones 
climbed  all  over  my  host  as  soon  as  we  entered  the 
place.  Two  fair-haired  little  girls  were  in  his  arms 
at  once.  One  succeeded  in  getting  on  his  shoul¬ 
ders,  and  the  rest  were  trying  to  get  up  there. 

As  I  watched  this  happy  group,  I  wished  for  the 
artist’s  talent  and  brush  that  I  might  preserve  a 
memento  of  this  beautiful  scene  before  me.  But 
I  also  thought  how  kind  it  was  of  God  to  provide 
for  those  fatherless  ones  such  a  loving  father,  and 
such  a  beautiful  home. 

The  inmates  of  the  home,  even  to  the  servants, 
all  moved  about  in  a  quiet  gentle  manner.  The 
very  atmosphere  about  the  place  seemed  specially 
adapted  to  such  surroundings.  The  air  was  balmy, 
soothing  and  refreshing. 

The  books  I  found  in  my  bedroom  were  of  the 
best  type  of  Christian  literature,  and  during  my 
stay  I  just  feasted  on  them.  The  pictures  on  the 
wall  and  the  mottoes  all  spoke  of  God. 

The  next  morning,  after  breakfast,  I  joined  in 
family  prayer.  Then  I  took  my  Bible  and  started 
out  for  a  stroll  among  the  beautiful  hills,  and  for 
a  little  season  of  being  alone  with  God.  The 
scenes  about  the  place  were  superb.  As  I  gazed 


104  OUT  OF,  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


over  the  vast  fields  all  covered  with  the  loveliest 
golden  coloured  poppies,  I  felt  as  though  the  very 
ground  were  sacred.  Then  I  remembered  that  the 
place  was  called  “ Beulah”  (espoused). 

I  spent  a  very  delightful  week  at  this  home,  and 
I  often  look  hack  to  it  with  most  pleasant  memo¬ 
ries.  Shortly  after  leaving  I  secured  a  position 
with  a  Christian  firm  in  San  Francisco,  where  I 
remained  for  over  three  years. 

As  soon  as  I  was  properly  located  I  sent  at  once 
to  Los  Angeles  for  my  hoy.  Although  not  quite 
nine  years  old,  he  made  the  trip  to  San  Francisco, 
a  distance  of  five  hundred  miles,  all  alone.  The 
greater  part  of  the  trip  he  traveled  on  the  engine. 
After  being  a  few  hours  on  the  road  he  found  his 
way  to  the  engine  and  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  engineer.  This  man,  seeing  that  the  child  was 
traveling  alone,  in  his  kindness,  asked  him  to  ride 
on  the  engine  with  him. 

Of  course,  a  hoy  doesn’t  need  a  second  invitation 
to  such  an  experience.  This  was  the  greatest  time 
of  his  life.  Weeks,  nay,  months  afterwards,  he 
never  tired  telling  me  of  the  wonders  of  that  en¬ 
gine,  and  the  kindness  of  the  engineer  and  fire¬ 
man. 

Oh,  the  wonderful  kindness  of  the  Lord!  I  can 
never  repay  Him  for  His  great  love.  I  want  to 
love  Him  more,  live  holier,  and  serve  Him  more 
faithfully ! 

I  had  come  to  San  Francisco  a  stranger,  hardly 


SOUL-WINNING  EXPERIENCES  105 


knowing  which  way  to  turn.  But  the  Lord,  bless 
His  dear  name,  just  opened  the  right  door  for  me, 
into  the  best  kind  of  Christian  home,  where  I  could 
have  my  boy  with  me,  and  every  comfort  to  make 
us  happy.  This  was  much  appreciated  by  us  both, 
after  our  former  disappointments  and  separation. 

I  realized  something  of  what  Peter  must  have 
felt  when  after  fishing  all  night  and  catching 
nothing,  toward  morning,  when  cold,  hungry  and 
discouraged,  he  saw  a  bright  fire  on  the  shore  and 
a  kind  voice  saying,  “  Come  and  dine !  ”  On  land¬ 
ing,  he  found  it  was  the  Lord  I  And  He  is  the 
same  Lord  still! 

As  stated  above,  I  was  now  in  the  employ  of  a 
Christian  firm.  The  management  of  this  firm  al¬ 
ways  aimed,  as  far  as  possible,  to  secure  Christian 
help.  Often  this  was  impossible  and  they  were 
obliged  to  hire  others.  Some  made  profession  of 
being  Christians  just  to  obtain  employment  here, 
because  of  the  fair  and  just  treatment  given  to  the 
employees,  and  also  because  the  place  closed  on 
Sundays,  while  others  of  like  character  kept  open. 
A  splendid  opportunity  offered  itself  here  to  me 
to  use  my  Christian  influence  in  behalf  of  my  fel¬ 
low  work-mates,  who  were  still  unconverted,  and 
God  graciously  blessed  these  efforts  to  the  salvation 
of  quite  a  few. 

Indeed,  this  became  my  spiritual  academy.  I 
have  great  reason  always  to  remember  it.  Con¬ 
siderations  of  space,  however,  do  not  permit  my 


106  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


telling  all  that  the  Lord  taught  me,  and  how  gra¬ 
ciously  He  used  me  here. 

Until  this  time  I  had  been  worshipping  God 
under  trying  circumstances,  having  had  continually 
to  fear  of  being  discovered  by  my  employers  of 
being  a  Christian,  which  meant  persecution  and 
loss  of  position,  which  I  could  ill  afford.  Now, 
however,  being  employed  by  a  Christian  firm  I  was 
released  from  this  restraint,  the  chains  of  bondage 
were  broken,  I  was  set  at  liberty,  I  could  worship 
God  at  will,  without  restriction,  which  was  to  me 
a  great  privilege. 

I  was  hungry  in  my  soul  for  God,  and  wanted 
to  devote  my  innermost  affection  to  my  Lord,  to 
sit  at  Ilis  feet  and  receive  from.  Him  all  the  in¬ 
structions  I  could  obtain  through  His  Word. 

I  craved  to  be  saved  from  every  wrong  temper 
and  disposition,  from  every  tendency  in  life  which 
was  contrary  to  God’s  holy  will ;  I  longed  to 
be  grafted  into  the  mind  and  spirit  of  Christ,  to 
be  conformed  to  the  likeness  of  God  in  whose 
image  I  was  now  created  through  faith  in  Christ. 

Here,  in  the  employ  of  this  Christian  firm,  my 
soul  expanded  like  a  tree  that  is  planted  by  a  river. 
I  could  have  my  little  New  Testament  at  my  work, 
and  at  noon  while  refreshing  my  body,  I  could  also 
refresh  my  soul.  Thus  my  soul  became  truly 
u  like  a  watered  garden,  and  like  a  spring  of  water, 
whose  waters  fail  not.”  My  spiritual  experience 
increased,  and  with  it  the  love  of  God  abounded 


SOUL-WINNING  EXPERIENCES  10T 


more  and  more.  Here  at  my  work,  I  found  a  lit¬ 
tle  room  which  served  me  well  as  a  “  power  house.” 
This  became  to  me,  “  the  secret  place  of  the  Most 
High.”  Here  I  fled  for  refuge  in  every  time  of 
need,  many  battles  were  fought  and  won  in  this 
room  on  my  knees.  It  was  a  secluded  spot,  away 
from  the  noise  and  confusion,  very  fitting  and  suit¬ 
able  for  my  purpose. 

While  I  cannot  possibly  record  all  the  Lord  did 
for  me  and  others  during  my  stay  with  this  Chris¬ 
tian  firm,  yet  I  want  to  record  the  following  inci¬ 
dent  to  show  God’s  guiding  hand  in  the  affairs  of 
man. 

One  of  the  bakers  employed  here  was  a  source 
of  great  annoyance  and  trial  to  me.  He  was  one 
of  those  jolly,  happy-go-lucky  kind  of  chaps.  To 
him  nothing  seemed  really  serious ;  whether  of  life 
or  death,  all  was  a  joke  with  him.  He  was  full  of 
fun  and  laughter,  nothing  really  troubled  him,  and 
a  wedding  or  a  funeral  was  all  the  same  to  him. 
If  he  heard  of  a  man  being  run  over  by  a  train, 
he  would  say,  jestingly,  “  What  a  fool  he  must 
have  been  to  think  he  could  stop  a  train.”  He  had 
a  comical  song  to  accompany  every  jest,  and  this 
greatly  amused  the  young  men  and  the  young  girls 
about  the  place.  His  many  funny  stories,  generally 
of  double  meaning,  drew  the  young  people  around 
him  like  bees  around  the  honeycomb.  What  made, 
it  sorrowful  to  me  was  that  he  claimed  to  be  a 
Christian,  and  boasted  of  the  fact  that  he  was  bet- 


108  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


ter  than  those  Christians  who  profess  great  piety 
and  reverence .  for  God.  Thus,  he  was  setting  up 
a  wrong  standard  and  a  poor  example  before  these 
young  people.  To  me  this  man  was  a  great  of¬ 
fence,  and  I  believe  an  offence  to  God,  for  he  not 
only  played  the  fool,  but  was  a  hypocrite  and  a 
stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  sinners. 

I  realized  that  as  long  as  this  man  had  the  in¬ 
fluence  over  these  people  he  had,  it  was  impossible 
to  reach  them  with  the  gospel  of  Christ  and  bring 
them  to  think  seriously  of  their  soul’s  salvation. 
Yet  how  to  remedy  the  condition  without  doing 
any  injury  to  either  the  baker  or  the  young  people 
was  a  problem.  I  needed  grace,  power  and  wis¬ 
dom,  and  these  I  realized  God  alone  could  supply. 
So  I  gave  myself  up  to  Him  and  communed  often 
with  my  Lord.  At  this  period  my  “  power  house  ” 
served  me  well. 

I  had  to  exercise  faith,  patience  and  long-suffer¬ 
ing  until  God’s  fullness  of  time  had  come.  Finally 
it  came,  but  in  an  entirely  different  way  from  what 
I  had  either  planned  or  expected.  After  four  or 
five  weeks  of  patient  waiting  on  the  Lord,  and  won¬ 
dering  all  the  while  how  to  approach  the  matter, 
the  time  came  when  God  opened  the  way. 

One  day  at  noon,  while  the  baker  and  his  help¬ 
ers  were  eating  their  lunch  in  their  room,  I  was 
likewise  eating  my  lunch  in  my  room  with  only  a 
thin  partition  between  us.  As  usual,  I  could  hear 
the  baker’s  tongue  rattling  along  at  a  great  rate, 


SOUL-WINNING  EXPERIENCES  109 


jesting  and  sporting  with  religious  matters,  caus¬ 
ing  peals  of  laughter  to  go  up,  which  seemed  to  me 
like  the  smoke  of  the  burning  incense  by  Korah, 
Dathan  and  Abiram,  who  offered  strange  lire  be¬ 
fore  God  and  were  swallowed  up  by  the  earth  for 
their  folly.  I  marvelled  they  were  not  afraid  to 
commit  such  sacrilege. 

While  I  thought  about  these  things,  the  Holy 
Spirit  brought  to  my  remembrance  a  verse  of 
Scripture,  and  the  Spirit  said,  “  Use  it.”  I  at 
once  looked  it  up  in  my  little  Testament  and  read 
it  over  carefully  and  found  it  most  suitable  for 
the  occasion.  I  immediately  acted  as  the  Lord  di¬ 
rected.  I  wrote  the  chapter  and  verse  on  a  piece 
of  paper  and  took  it  in  to  where  the  men  were  still 
jesting  and  having  a  good  time.  I  laid  the  piece 
of  scrap  paper  before  the  baker.  “  The  Lord  has 
given  me  this  for  you,  my  brother,”  I  said,  quietly. 
“  When  you  go  home,  kindly  look  it  up  in  your 
Bible,  read  it  carefully  until  you  know  it  by  heart, 
and  when  you  have  learned  the  lesson,  come  and 
tell  me  about  it.”  With  this,  I  left  the  room. 

The  next  morning  when  I  came  to  my  work  I 
met  the  baker,  and  as  usual  said  “  good  morning,” 
but  instead  of  giving  me  his  usual  friendly  reply, 
he  made  no  response.  He  passed  me  several  times 
during  the  day,  but  seemed  not  to  notice  me,  and 
again  at  night  he  left  without  bidding  me  the  usual 
“good  night.”  Not  a  sound  came  out  of  the  bake- 
shop  all  the  next  day.  Several  people  inquired  as 


110  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


to  what  was  the  matter  with  - ,  but  no  one 

seemed  to  know.  Three  times  that  day  I  ran  into 
my  “  power  house  ”  to  praise  God,  for  I  saw  the 
leaven  put  into  the  meal  was  working  and  I  was 
asking  the  Lord  not  to  let  up,  but  to  keep  the  fire 
burning.  I  promised  the  Lord  that  I  would  do  my 
part  in  supplying  the  fuel. 

Three  weeks  passed  without  any  greeting  being 
passed  between  myself  and  the  baker,  and  with 
three  weeks  of  silence  in  the  bakeshop.  It  seemed 

as  though  lockjaw  had  seized  Mr.  - ,  and 

everyone  wondered  at  the  sudden  change  which  had 
come  over  him.  They  could  not  understand  what 
had  happened. 

One  day  while  eating  my  lunch,  the  door  of  my 
room  opened  gradually,  I  looked  up  and  there 
stood  my  baker,  looking  rather  timid  and  shy. 
a  Brother  A.,”  he  said,  a  may  I  come  in  ?  ”  “  Cer¬ 
tainly,  come  in,”  I  responded.  He  did,  and  as  ho 
approached  me  his  chin  quivered  and  his  eyes  filled 
with  tears.  Without  a  word  he  knelt  down  beside 
my  little  table.  I  knelt  down  beside  him,  putting 
my  arm  about  him.  He  began  to  sob;  then  stam¬ 
meringly  he  muttered,  “  Oh,  pray  for  me.”  I  did, 
and  finally  he  prayed  for  himself.  Yes,  with  all 
his  heart,  he  cried  like  a  child,  and  told  the  Lord 
all  about  it.  When  relief  came  to  his  soul  he  told 
me  what  he  had  suffered  through  those  wTeeks. 
“  Brother  A.,”  he  said,  “  I  have  read  the  verse  of 
'Scripture  you  gave  me  and  I  have  learned  its  les- 


SOUL-WINNING  EXPERIENCES  111 


son,  but  oli,  the  price  it  cost  me !  ”  Again  he  burst 
into  tears.  He  asked  me  to  forgive  him  for  his 
unkindly  treatment.  And,  of  course,  I  did  so  very 
gladly.  He  became  a  wonderfully  changed  man, 
and  a  very  sweet,  tender-hearted  follower  of  the 
the  Lamb  of  God.  The  verse  of  Scripture  I  gave 
him  was  James  1:26:  “  If  any  man  among  you 
seem  to  be  religious,  and  bridleth  not  his  tongue, 
but  deceiveth  his  own  heart,  this  man’s  religion  is 
vain.” 

I  opened  my  heart  to  him  and  told  him  of  my 
anxious  desire  for  the  salvation  of  those  about  us. 
I  engaged  him  to  unite  with  me  in  prayer  for  them. 
Often  we  went  together  before  the  Lord  in  our 
little  “  power  house,”  and,  ere  long,  the  showers 
began  to  come  down  and  souls  were  converted  to 
God. 

The  first  one  to  come  to  God  was  this  baker’s 
helper,  a  young  man  about  eighteen  years  of  age, 
raised  in  a  good  Christian  home  but  now  running 
wild  with  a  lot  of  other  young  men  much  older 
than  himself. 

The  next  was  a  young  man  who  had  served  in 
the  American  army  during  the  Spanish-American 
War.  When  he  was  discharged  from  the  service 
he  came  to  San  Francisco  with  two  other  young 
men  who  were  also  discharged  soldiers.  They  each 
had  from  five  hundred  to  seven  hundred  dollars, 
and  wanted  to  see  the  town;  and  they  surely  did — • 
in  one  night!  The  next  morning  they  woke  up  in 


112  OUT  OF,  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


a  strange  place.  They  could  not  remember  bow 
they  bad  ever  got  there,  and  to  their  surprise  found 
that,  between  the  three  of  them,  they  had  not  money 
enough  left  to  buy  one  breakfast !  One  of  the  three 
boys  obtained  work  in  our  place  as  a  dish-washer, 
with  the  result  that  here  he  found  Christ  as  his 
Saviour  and  became  a  beautiful  Christian. 

And  so  the  work  went  on,  souls  coming  to  God, 
one  by  one. 


/ 


XII 


JOIXIXG  THE  SALVATION  ARMY 


I  HAVE  already  described  bow  I  first  met 
with  tbe  Salvation  Army  while  in  business 
in  a  mining  town  on  the  Mojave  desert.  In 
San  Francisco  I  came  in  touch  with  them  again, 
and  this  time  through  a  Jewish  Christian.  This 
young  man  was  the  son  of  a  Hebrew  rabbi  in  Hun¬ 
gary,  who  had  come  to  this  country  in  his  youth. 
Not  having  a  proper  guardian,  he  formed  the  ac¬ 
quaintance  of  wrong  associates.  Ere  long  he  be¬ 
came  a  professional  gambler ;  he  also  acquired 
every  other  evil  habit  common  to  men  who  follow 
that  profession. 

This  young  man  was  formerly  employed  by  a  so- 

called  fashionable  restaurant  in  Los  Angeles,  not 

of  the  best  moral  character.  One  Sunday,  while 

walking  down  the  street  he  was  attracted  by  the 

music  of  the  Salvation  Army,  holding  an  open-air 

meeting.  He  stopped,  listened,  and  soon  became 

much  interested  in  the  testimonies  he  heard  given. 

When  the  Salvationists  left  their  open-air  stand 

and  marched  to  their  hall,  he  followed  them. 

Here,  again,  the  band  played,  the  soldiers  sang,  and 

testimonies  were  delivered,  some  of  which  appealed 

113 


114  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


to  His  conscience.  Here  before  him  were  men 
whose  former  lives,  in  many  respects,  resembled  bis 
own.  These  men  told  how,  through  faith  in  Christ, 
their  lives  had  become  changed  for  the  better. 
During  this  meeting  he  became  convicted  of  his 
own  sinful  habits;  he  felt  certain  that  if  God  had 
done  so  much  for  these  people,  he  could  see  no  rea¬ 
son  why  the  same  could  not  be  possible  in  his  own 
case.  When  an  invitation  was  given  at  the  end  of 
the  service,  to  those  desiring  to  accept  Christ  to 
step  forward,  he,  with  others,  obeyed;  and  sure 
enough,  the  miracle  which  had  been  performed  in 
others  became  also  vividly  real  in  his  own  life. 

The  change  in  him  was  truly  remarkable.  All 
his  former  evil  habits  and  evil  companions  were 
dropped  at  once.  He  immediately  went  back  to  the 
place  where  he  was  employed  and  gave  up  a  lucra¬ 
tive  position.  When  the  manager  asked  the  reason 
he  frankly  told  him  that  he  had  given  himself  to 
God  and  joined  the  Salvation  Army,  and  could  not 
serve  God  and  liquor  at  the  same  time. 

He  at  once  became  a  soldier  in  the  Army  ranks. 
When  I  met  him  again  in  San  Francisco,  I  found 
him  a  most  faithful  attendant  at  the  Salvation 
Army  services, — a  man  clean  and  pure  in  charac¬ 
ter,  devoted  to  God  and  Christ,  and  as  humble  as 
a  child. 

This  one-time  dissipated  Hebrew  gambler,  with¬ 
out  stability  of  character,  who  could  neither  be 
trusted  and  without  strength  to  trust  himself,  has 


JOINING  THE  SALVATION  ARMY  115 


for  years  been  filling  a  most  responsible  position 
of  trust,  with  credit  and  honour,  enjoying  the  ut¬ 
most  confidence  of  all  associated  with  him.  His 
conversion  is  no  mere  speculative  theory,  but  an 
experimental  fact,  a  living,  practical  reality.  Thus 
he  is  another  witness  of  the  truth  that  “  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation 
to  every  one  that  believeth,”  and  that  Jews  are  no 
exception  to  this  rule. 

Through  this  young  man  I  became  a  regular  at¬ 
tendant  at  the  Salvation  Army  meetings.  The 
Officers  of  the  Corps  became  acquainted  with  me 
and  gave  me  many  privileges.  In  their  company 
I  visited  the  prisons  and  hospitals,  and  also  fre¬ 
quently  accompanied  them  when  visiting  the  poor 
and  needy  in  the  slums  of  the  city.  Here  I  saw 
scenes  of  poverty  and  destitution  such  as  I  never 
knew  existed  in  this  land  of  plenty.  When  we 
entered  some  of  these  homes  (if  such  they  could 
be  called)  and  saw  the  misery  of  the  needy  ones 
dwelling  there,  a  cry  went  up  in  my  heart,  “  Oh 
for  men  and  women  to  do  the  work  of  Christ !  ” 

What  particularly  impressed  me  in  these  visita¬ 
tions  was  the  thoroughness  with  which  they  were 
carried  out.  Every  tenant  in  the  building  was 
called  upon.  The  non-sectarian  spirit  manifested 
by  the  Officers  in  dealing  with  the  people  made  this 
possible.  And  this  expressed  exactly  my  idea  of 
Christianity.  I  felt  that  if  Christ  died  for  the 
salvation  of  all,  then  we,  His  followers,  ought  to 


116  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


live  for  the  salvation  of  all.  This  I  saw,  was  also 
the  doctrine  of  Christ.  “  He  died  for  all,  that  they 
which  live  should  not  henceforth  live  unto  them¬ 
selves,  hut  unto  him,  which  died  for  them,  and  rose 
again.”  II  Cor.  5 :  15. 

In  these  house-to-house  visitations,  we  met  peo¬ 
ple  of  every  nationality  and  of  every  form  of  re¬ 
ligion,  yet  they  were  all  treated  alike  and  all  re¬ 
ceived  like  attention.  Where  no  objections  were 
made  they  were  prayed  with.  Where  it  was  pos¬ 
sible  and  convenient  those  who  acknowledged  to  not 
being  converted  were  urged  to  surrender  to  God 
and  to  accept  Christ  as  their  Saviour.  Many  pre¬ 
cious  souls  responded  to  the  invitation  and  gave 
their  hearts  to  God.  Great  indeed  were  our  privi¬ 
leges  and  opportunities. 

When  I  saw  the  appreciation  and  gratitude 
manifested  by  those  we  were  able  to  relieve  mate¬ 
rially,  or  help  spiritually,  the  secret  became  clear 
to  me  why  the  multitudes  followed  the  Lord  Jesus 
three  days’  journey  into  the  desert,  without  even 
eating,  and  why  the  common  people  heard  Him 
gladly.  I  became  more  and  more  interested  in  this 
work,  and  after  mingling  with  these  people  three 
years,  I  decided  to  throw  in  my  lot  with  them.  I 
became  a  soldier  and  later  an  Officer  in  their 
ranks. 

Here  also  a  new  experience  awaited  me.  I  had 
lived  a  widower  seven  years  and  had  fully  deter- 


JOINING  THE  SALVATION  ARMY  117 


mined  to  spend  the  remainder  of  my  days  in  that 
condition  of  life.  However,  the  Lord’s  ways  are 
not  always  open  to  us  beforehand — at  any  rate  I 
changed  my  mind. 

Ensign  Charlotte  Matthis,  an  experienced  and 
devoted  Salvation  Army  Officer,  had  just  returned 
from  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  where  she  had  spent 
three  years  in  most  self-sacrificing  service  for  the 
Master.  In  San  Francisco  we  frequently  met  at 
the  public  services,  where  our  co-operation  in  faith 
and  prayers  was  most  signally  owned  and  blessed 
of  God.  To  us  it  became  plain  that  our  meeting 
was  providential.  We  became  attached  to  each 
other  and  after  a  year’s  engagement,  we  were  mar¬ 
ried.  My  precious  boy  needed  a  mother.  For 
seven  years  I  had  done  my  best  to  be  both  father 
and  mother  to  him,  but  I  fear  my  efforts  in  this 
double  capacity  were  hardly  up  to  the  mark. 

There  are  things  needful  in  a  child’s  life  which 
only  a  mother  can  supply.  God  was  very  kind,  to 
raise  up  such  a  mother  for  my  boy,  with  her  keen 
knowledge  and  experience  of  the  moral  and  spir¬ 
itual,  as  well  as  the  physical,  needs  of  the  child. 

Much  is  due  to  her  influence  that  our  dear  boy 
is,  to-day,  an  Officer  in  the  Salvation  Army,  preach¬ 
ing  the  gospel. 

To  this,  God  graciously  added  another  blessing 
to  our  union,  giving  us  a  little  daughter,  which  by 
His  help  we  are  trying  to  raise  to  the  same  end. 


118  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


The  fact  that  my  dear  wife  is  an  experienced  Chris¬ 
tian,  and  devoted  to  her  work  for  God,  greatly 
added  to  our  usefulness  in  our  labours  for  the 
Master.  Many  souls  have  been  added  to  the 
Church  of  God  through  our  ministry. 


XIII 


FIRST  APPOINTMENTS  AS  OFFICER 

AT  my  first  appointment  as  Salvation  Army 
Officer  I  learned  the  real  meaning  of  the 
words  of  the  prophet,  “  The  just  shall 
live  by  faith.”  The  Corps  to  which  I  was  sent 
had  once  been  prosperous,  with  perhaps  forty  or 
more  soldiers,  but  through  the  unwise  conduct  of 
one  Officer,  the  influence  of  the  Salvation  Army 
in  the  community  had  become  ruined,  and  the  work 
greatly  hindered. 

My  predecessor  had  been  in  charge  for  two  years 
under  very  trying  circumstances ;  he  was  a  devoted 
worker,  but  physically  unable  to  go  on  with  the 
task. 

The  Army  owned  the  hall  property.  When  the 
hall  was  first  built  the  location  was  good,  but  dur¬ 
ing  the  lapse  of  time  the  business  portion  developed 
its  main  interests  in  another  direction  so  that  bv 
the  time  I  went  there  our  hall  was  deserted,  al¬ 
most  outside  the  town  proper. 

There  were  no  sidewalks  on  the  street  leading 
to  it,  and  in  rainy  weather  it  was  difficult  of 
access.  Nor  were  there  any  lights  in  this  section 
of  the  town. 


119 


120  OUT  OF,  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


The  Salvation  Army  was  looked  upon  with 
scorn,  its  motives  were  not  understood  by  the  better 
classes,  and  as  a  consequence  the  financial  support 
was  far  from  good. 

As  a  Captain  of  the  Salvation  Army  I  was  en¬ 
titled  to  $8.00  a  week  as  salary,  providing,  how¬ 
ever,  all  other  expenses  in  connection  with  the 
Corps  had  first  been  met. 

The  first  few  weeks  of  my  stay  here  my  salary 
averaged  from  $1.63  to  $2.75  a  week,  and  there 
were  days  when  I  wished  for  a  corn  field  to  pluck 
the  ears  of  corn,  but  found  none. 

Then,  again,  there  were  days  when  the  Lord 
would  wonderfully  surprise  me.  Eising  one  morn¬ 
ing  to  prepare  my  breakfast  I  found  my  cupboard 
was  empty.  The  owner  of  the  nearest  grocery 
store  was  not  very  friendly  toward  the  Salvation 
Army,  and  had  always  treated  me  as  though  I  had 
no  right  to  live  on  the  same  earth  with  him. 

I  had  never  asked  him  for  any  favours  and  was 
rather  reluctant  to  ask  him  for  any  now,  but  in 
my  need  I  decided  I  would  do  so. 

On  opening  my  front  door  to  go  to  him,  I  dis¬ 
covered  a  nice  new  package  of  breakfast  food  stuck 
in  between  the  screen  and  the  door.  This,  with 
what  milk  I  had  left  over  from  the  night  before, 
made  me  a  nice  meal.  As  I  ate  my  heaven-sent 
breakfast  that  morning,  I  thought  of  the  words  of 
the  Master  to  His  disciples :  “  Therefore  I  say 
unto  you,  take  no  thought  for  your  life,  what  ye 


FIRST  APPOINTMENTS  AS  OFFICER  121 


shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink;  nor  yet  for  your 
body,  what  ye  shall  put  on.  Is  not  life  more  than 
meat,  and  the  body  than  raiment  ?  Behold  the 
fowls  of  the  air:  for  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they 
reap,  nor  gather  into  barns;  yet  your  Heavenly 
Father  feedeth  them.” 

That  morning  after  my  sumptuous  meal  I  called 
on  one  of  my  most  faithful  soldiers,  a  dear  Chris¬ 
tian  man  who  had  lost  a  leg  and  was  then  in  the 
County  Hospital.  I  spent  a  very  profitable  time 
with  him,  and  then  visited  the  inmates  of  this  in¬ 
stitution  with  a  result  that  two  souls  sought  God. 

On  my  way  back,  walking  along  the  railroad 
track  for  about  three  miles  in  the  burning  hot  sun, 
I  wondered  how  I  would  get  provisions  sufficient 
to  carry  me  over  Sunday.  Praying  and  singing,  I 
went  on  my  way,  praising  God  for  the  salvation 
of  those  two  souls  at  the  hospital. 

Arriving  at  my  quarters  I  opened  the  doors  and 
windows  in  order  to  get  a  good  circulation  of  air, 
as  it  was  a  very  hot  day.  On  trying  to  open  the 
back  door  I  found  it  opened  rather  hard,  as  if 
something  were  in  the  way.  Looking  around  the 
comer  for  the  cause,  I  discovered  that  in  my  ab¬ 
sence  some  kind  man  had  left  a  box  of  eatables  on 
my  back  porch  with  everything  in  it  that  my  cup¬ 
board  needed — a  bountiful  supply.  What  could  I 
do  but  fall  at  my  Saviour’s  feet  and  praise  Him  ? 

Not  having  anyone  to  go  with  me  to  the  open- 


/ 


122  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


air  meetings,  I  went  out  faithfully  every  night, 
alone,  with  a  bass  drum  as  my  companion. 

The  open-air  attendance  was  always  good.  In 
this  little  town  of  perhaps  8,000  inhabitants  we  had 
twenty-nine  saloons.  They  were  well  patronized 
at  night,  my  open-air  audience  was  made  up  largely 
of  this  patronage.  Being  alone,  the  work  was 
naturally  very  hard  on  my  voice,  and  what  with 
the  winter  months  and  the  rainy  season  coming  on, 
the  devil  had  a  good  chance  of  attack  in  trying  to 
discourage  me.  One  night  while  alone  in  my  quar¬ 
ters  he  took  occasion  to  pay  me  a  friendly  visit, 
suggesting  to  me  that  if  I  continued  in  this  work 
during  the  rainy  season  I  would  soon  wear  myself 
out  and  then  I  would  have  to  retire  from  the  work, 
defeated.  u  Besides,”  he  continued,  “  your  audi¬ 
ence  consists  mostly  of  foreigners,  Mexicans,  Portu¬ 
guese  and  Japanese,  and  what  is  the  use  of  preach¬ 
ing  to  these  ?  ”  I  saw  that  the  devil  was  really 
interested  in  my  welfare  and  that  he  was  dealing 
with  me  wisely,  like  a  father  cautioning  his  son, 
and  I  agreed  with  him  readily  and  saw  that  he  was 
right.  It  was  a  foggy  night  anyhow,  and  my  room 
was  really  more  comfortable  than  the  street  corner, 
so  I  stayed  in.  This  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever 
failed  to  go  out  into  the  open  air. 

How,  what  do  you  think  happened? 

That  same  night  I  dreamed  that  I  was  in  a  large 
auditorium,  not  as  a  preacher,  but  as  a  spectator. 
There  was  a  preacher  on  the  platform  and  he 


FIRST  APPOINTMENTS  AS  OFFICER  123 


preached  a  very  effective  sermon  to  an  attentive 
and  interested  crowd,  although  I  could  not  tell 
what  he  said.  But  by  the  manner  in  which  his 
sermon  affected  the  people,  I  felt  his  talk  was  bring¬ 
ing  forth  good  results. 

The  audience  was  made  up  mostly  of  foreigners. 
They  were  all  bowed  down  with  grief  and  weep¬ 
ing.  Upon  waking,  with  the  scene  still  real  before 
me,  I  knelt  before  God  in  deep  repentance.  I  then 
understood  Peter’s  vision  of  a  “  sheet  let  down 
from  heaven  by  four  corners,  filled  with  all  manner 
of  four-footed  beasts  and  creeping  things,”  and  I 
said:  “  Yes,  Lord,  I  will  go  doubting  nothing.” 

I  went  out  as  usual  that  night  to  the  open  air, 
stopping  first  at  the  hall  to  pray,  and  get  my  drum. 
While  kneeling  in  prayer  beside  my  drum,  the 
door  opened  and  a  man  stepped  in.  Seeing  me  in 
the  attitude  of  prayer  he  came  and  knelt  beside 
me  and  then  in  broken  English,  but  in  the  Spirit, 
prayed  himself. 

On  opening  my  eyes  I  looked  into  the  face  of 
the  ugliest  looking  Mexican  I  had  ever  seen.  He 
seemed  so  pleased  to  meet  me  and  related  the  story 
of  his  conversion  in  Los  Angeles  on  the  Plaza  (the 
Mexican  quarter)  ten  years  before. 

He  was  now  a  Salvation  Army  soldier.  I  took 
him  with  me  to  the  open  air  and  as  soon  as  he 
began  to  speak  I  felt  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
He  spoke  in  the  Mexican  language,  and  although  I 
did  not  understand  a  word  he  said,  I  was  deeply 


124  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


affected.  I  saw  that  the  people  standing  on  the 
sidewalk  were  all  in  tears. 

When  my  Mexican  brother  was  through  speak¬ 
ing,  I  asked  him  to  invite  the  people  to  come  to  our 
service.  Five  Mexicans  came  with  us,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  indoor  meeting  all  five  accepted  Christ 
as  their  personal  Saviour. 

USTot  having  many  soldiers  to  look  after,  I  spent 
a  good  deal  of  my  time  in  visiting  and  praying 
with  the  sick.  Eot  being  able  to  get  the  people  to 
attend  the  services  in  the  hall,  I  organized  cottage 
prayer-meetings.  God  graciously  blessed  this  ef¬ 
fort.  Souls  became  converted  in  these  services  and 
the  interest  increased.  Before  long,  the  Methodists, 
Baptists,  and  the  Presbyterians,  all  held  cottage 
prayer-meetings.  Previous  to  this  time,  there  had 
not  been  a  prayer-meeting  held  in  the  town  for 
three  years.  So  the  Salvation  Army  did  some 
good,  at  least  in  awakening  an  interest  in  the 
salvation  of  souls. 

The  influence  of  these  meetings  spread,  not  only 
in  town,  but  to  the  outskirts  as  well.  Calls  came 
from  different  parts — a  wealthy  lady  living  in  the 
country,  a  beautiful  Christian  character,  became 
keenly  interested  in  the  salvation  of  her  neigh¬ 
bours  who  lived  on  ranches  scattered  over  a  large 
area,  without  either  a  church  or  Sunday  School 
near.  She  built  a  church  at  her  own  expense,  and 
even  paid  the  minister’s  salary. 

This  lady  invited  me  to  help  her  in  the  services, 


FIRST  APPOINTMENTS  AS  OFFICER  125 


with  the  result  that  in  three  nights  fifteen  souls 
came  to  God.  A  peculiar  incident  occurred  to  me 
while  on  my  way  to  this  place.  I  was  to  get  off  at 
a  flag  station  and  walk  down  the  road  to  a  certain 
farmhouse  and  get  further  instructions.  When  I 
got  off  at  the  flag  station  named,  it  was  so  foggy 
that  I  could  not  see  anybody  of  whom  I  might 
enquire.  I  took  chances  walking  down  the  road. 
In  about  fifteen  minutes  I  came  to  a  farmhouse, 
and  in  answer  to  my  inquiry  the  lady  directed  me. 
I  expressed  my  appreciation  for  her  kindness,  and 
before  leaving  I  told  her  of  my  errand  and  invited 
her  to  attend  the  services  at  the  church.  In  reply 
she  told  me  with  sorrowful  expression  that  she  was 
not  a  Christian.  This  gave  me  the  opportunity  to 
deal  with  her  concerning  her  souls  salvation,  re¬ 
sulting  in  her  accepting  Christ.  She  also  prayed 
for  her  unconverted  husband. 

I  continued  on  my  journey,  crossing  the  fresh 
ploughed  field  as  I  had  been  told,  but  not  reaching 
the  little  stream  I  was  told  to  cross  in  order  to 
reach  the  place,  I  became  uneasy,  for  this  seemed 
a  large  field,  and  it  was  rather  difficult  to  walk. 

The  fog  was  still  on,  so  I  could  not  see  any  dis¬ 
tance.  Hearing  someone  talking  to  horses,  I 
started  in  the  direction  of  the  voice.  Reaching  the 
place  I  saw  the  man,  who  was  using  most  profane 
language  to  his  horses.  The  man  was  plowing 
with  a  gang  plow  and  twenty-four  horses.  I  saluted 
him  in  a  friendly  way;  as  he  stopped  I  asked  to 


126  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


be  directed  to  the  place.  This  he  did  very  gladly. 
In  conversation  I  told  him  of  my  errand  and  asked 
him  if  he  would  attend  the  services  at  the  church. 
He  laughed  heartily  and  then  informed  me  that 
there  were  already  so  many  hypocrites  about  there 
that  he  did  not  care  to  increase  the  number.  I  told 
him  God  would  surely  love  him  for  his  sincere 
intention  and  that  because  of  the  many  hypocrites 
in  the  world  Jesus  died  and  shed  His  blood  that 
they  might  be  saved  from  their  hypocrisy  and  re¬ 
ceive  power  to  live  godly  lives  in  sincerity  and  in 
truth,  and  that  it  was  these  same  kind  of  hypocrites 
who  put  Jesus  to  death.  I  told  him  that  after  He 
arose  from  the  dead  3,000  of  these  hypocrites  re¬ 
pented  of  their  sins  and  became  converted,  and  that 
came  about  through  the  life  and  testimony  of  one 
man  who  was  a  real  Christian. 

“  How  do  you  know,”  I  said,  “  but  that  God  may 
use  you  as  a  witness  to  save  these  hypocrites  around 
about  here  ?  ”  I  told  him  of  my  own  Christian 
experiences,  and  before  long  we  were  both  in  tears 
kneeling  beside  the  gang-plow  in  the  fresh-plowed 
field,  and  this  dear  man  accepted  Christ  as  his 
Saviour. 

When  I  reached  my  destination  I  was  still  in 
tears ;  the  lady  met  me  at  the  gate  and  looking  into 
my  face  asked  the  reason  of  my  peculiar  joy. 
When  I  told  her  my  experience,  she  informed  me 
that  this  man  was  the  worst  blackguard  in  that  part 


FIRST  APPOINTMENTS  AS  OFFICER  127 


of  the  country,  and  that  the  woman  I  had  prayed 
with  first  was  his  wife. 

That  night,  at  the  first  service  in  the  church, 
both  the  man  and  his  wife  were  present  and  gave 
their  sincere  testimony  for  Christ. 

In  Santa  Rosa,  California,  one  Saturday,  while 
War  Cry  selling  in  the  business  part  of  the  city,  I 
entered  a  saloon  and  asked  the  bartender  if  I  could 
sell  him  a  War  Cry.  He  very  gruffly  answered, 
“  No!  ”  I  thanked  him  and  was  about  to  go  when 
a  well-dressed  gentleman  who  had  just  emptied  his 
glass  called  to  me,  “  Here,  Captain,  I’ll  take  a 
War  Cry !  ”  I  handed  him  one  and  in  return  he 
gave  me  two  bits  and  would  take  no  change.  He 
beckoned  me  to  go  with  him  to  the  rear  of  the 
saloon.  I  followed  him.  When  we  were  out  of 
hearing  distance  of  the  bartender  he  placed  his 
hands  on  my  shoulders  and  looking  me  straight  in 
the  face  said :  u  Tell  me,  Captain,  is  there  any 
truth  in  this  thing  you  preach  about  on  the  street 
corner  ?  ”  I  assured  him  that  there  was,  proving 
the  same  with  my  own  testimony.  With  tears  in 
his  eyes  he  said :  “  My  boy,  you’re  the  right  man 
for  me.”  He  then  handed  me  his  card,  saying: 
“  Will  you  please  call  on  me  Monday  evening  at 
seven-thirty  ?  ”  I  assured  him  that  I  would,  and 
left  him. 

In  the  evening  meeting  at  the  Citadel  I  inci¬ 
dentally  alluded  to  a  tall,  handsome  man  wearing 
a  green  sweater  whom  1  had  met  in  a  saloon.  I 


128  OUT  OF,  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


asked  the  comrades  of  the  Corps  to  pray  that  God 
might  touch  his  heart  and  save  him.  Immediately 
I  had  finished  speaking  I  noticed  that  a  lady  sit¬ 
ting  in  the  audience  bowed  her  head  and  cried. 

At  the  close  of  the  service  this  lady  came  to  me 
and  said :  “  That  man  you  spoke  of  is  my  hus¬ 
band;  he  has  been  on  a  spree  for  six  weeks,  and 
please/’  she  begged,  “  won’t  you  come  to  see  him 
to-night  ?  ” 

I  was  easily  persuaded,  and  my  wife  and  I  ac¬ 
companied  her  home. 

Arriving  there  we  found  her  husband  sitting  in 
front  of  the  fireplace  trying  to  broil  a  large  steak. 

Turning  his  face  he  looked  at  me  in  surprise 
and  said  quickly :  “  Didn’t  we  agree  to-day  to  meet 
Monday  evening  ?  ”  I  acknowledged  that  that  was 
true. 

I  at  once  took  up  the  trend  of  the  morning  con¬ 
versation,  dealing  with  him  kindly  but  faithfully. 

In  a  few  minutes  we  were  on  our  knees  in 
prayer,  with  the  result  that  this  dear  man  gave  his 
heart  to  God. 

When  he  realized  that  his  sins  were  really  for¬ 
given,  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  it 
was  a  reality,  the  joy  of  the  Lord  came  upon  him 
and  embracing  his  wife  he  cried  like  a  child. 

From  his  hip  pocket  he  drew  a  42  calibre  re¬ 
volver,  and  opening  up  the  center  he  threw  out  its 
contents  and  gave  them  to  me.  Closing  it  up 
again,  he  said  in  tears:  “  This  would  have  sent 


FIRST  APPOINTMENTS  AS  OFFICER  129 


'both  myself  and  wife  into  eternity  tbis  night,  bad 
you  not  come  here.” 

He  bad  held  a  very  prominent  position  with  the 
Metropolitan  Insurance  Company  for  many  years, 
but  on  account  of  bis  many  periodical  sprees  the 
firm  bad  been  obliged  to  dismiss  him.  After  a  few 
months  I  was  enabled  by  the  grace  of  God  to  have 
tbis  man  returned  to  bis  former  position. 

Both  be  and  bis  wife  became  beautiful  Chris¬ 
tians.  They  united  with  a  church  in  Oakland, 
Cal.,  where  they  settled  down. 


XIV 


DIVINE  HEALING 

SINCE  my  conversion  I  liave  enjoyed  God’s 
favour  and  power,  and  when  the  proper  oc¬ 
casion  offered  I  have  unhesitatingly  exer¬ 
cised  my  faith  in  praying  for  the  sick  with  en¬ 
couraging  results.  I  have  never  considered  it  a 
special  gift  or  particular  work,  hut  have  looked 
upon  it  as  part  of  God’s  merciful  endowment  in 
Christ  our  Saviour.  The  healing  of  our  bodily  ail¬ 
ments  seem  to  be  incorporated  in  the  agreement  as 
the  following  Scripture  would  indicate:  a  Is  any 
among  ye  afflicted  ?  Let  him  pray.  Is  any  merry  ? 
Let  him  sing  psalms.  Is  any  sick  among  you? 
Let  him  call  on  the  elders  of  the  church;  and  let 
them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord;  and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall 
save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up ;  and 
if  he  have  committed  sins  they  shall  be  forgiven 
him.”  James  5:13-16. 

The  following  few  cases  of  God’s  divine  mani¬ 
festations  may  prove  a  help  and  blessing: 

Physicians  Baffled 

In  the  Corps  where  I  became  a  soldier,  we  had 

.a  little  girl  ten  years  of  age,  who  was  gradually 

130 


DIVINE  HEALING 


131 


wasting  away  with  consumption.  Several  eminent 
physicians  in  San  Francisco  had  tried  their  skill 
for  the  recovery  of  this  child,  hut  alas !  their  efforts 
failed.  The  case  was  finally  given  up  as  incurable. 
The  mother  came  to  me  one  day,  broken-hearted 
and  in  tears,  telling  me  of  her  great  sorrow.  She 
told  me  how  this  little  girl  came  to  her  as  an  in¬ 
fant,  full  of  health  and  beauty,  and  was  the  joy 
and  gladness  of  their  home  until  the  terrible  dis¬ 
ease  began  its  dreadful  work.  She  told  me  how 
she  had  tried  every  available  means,  but  all  in  vain, 
and  that  in  spite  of  all  her  efforts  she  found  the 
little  pillow  on  which  the  child  rested  at  night  al¬ 
most  every  morning  covered  with  blood. 

I  asked  her  if  she  had  tried  the  Lord.  She  re¬ 
plied,  “  No.”  Then  I  said:  “  Let  us  pray  and  fast 
to-morrow,  and  to-morrow  night  I  will  come  and 
anoint  her  with  oil,  in  accordance  with  the  Word 
of  God,  which  declares,  ‘  the  prayer  of  faith  shall 
save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up.’  ” 
Accordingly,  I  called  the  next  evening  at  the  ap¬ 
pointed  time.  We  prayed,  and  anointed  her  with 
oil,  and  the  Lord  was  faithful  to  His  word — He 
raised  her  up. 

Surprise  Picture 

Four  years  later,  while  stationed  as  a  Salvation 
Army  Officer  in  Santa  Hosa,  California,  I  received 
the  following  letter  from  this  little  girl,  enclosing 
also  her  photo,  which  I  would  like  to  reproduce,  for 


132  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


she  certainly  does  not  show  in  her  picture  that  she 
had  ever  been  a  victim  of  consumption.  Her  letter 
follows : 

“  Napa  City,  Cal., 

“  April  15,  1905. 

“  Dear  Captain  : — I  thought  I  would  drop  you 
a  few  lines  to  let  you  know  that  I  am  still  in  God’s 
work.  I  feel  it’s  my  place.  I  have  not  had  a 
hemorrhage  of  the  lung  since  you  anointed  me  with 
oil.  Surely  God  had  a  work  for  me  to  do. 

“  I  go  to  the  jail  meetings  every  Sunday  morn¬ 
ing  with  Captain  Miron.  I  sing,  and  pray,  and 
testify.  I  try  to  get  men  saved.  Mamma  is  now 
working  here.  I  send  one  of  my  pictures  with 
Captain  Miron’s  baby  sitting  on  my  lap. 

“  Your  little  sister  in  Christ, 

“  Myrene  Bickford.” 

May  I  speak  of  another  case,  the  wife  of  a 
Methodist  minister?  Pie  and  his  wife  had  been 
missionaries  in  Africa,  but  were  obliged  to  give  up 
their  work  and  come  home  on  account  of  the  wife’s 
nervous  breakdown.  This  minister,  at  the  time, 
had  charge  of  a  small  church  in  a  village  not  far 
from  where  I  was  stationed. 

I  held  several  meetings  in  this  village  with  most 
satisfactory  results.  I  was  entertained  at  the  min¬ 
ister’s  home.  The  wife  up  to  this  time  had  not 
attended  any  kind  of  public  service  for  eight 


DIVINE  HEALING 


133 


months.  She  told  me  one  day  how  much  she  would 
like  to  attend  one  of  my  meetings,  as  she  had  never 
before  met  a  converted  Jew,  nor  had  she  ever  heard 
one  preach.  I  told  her  to  come,  and  assured  her 
that  this  converted  Jew  was  perfectly  harmless. 
She  came,  and  I  asked  her  to  sing,  and  she  sang 
a  solo  very  effectively.  She  went  home  that  night 
with  no  ill  effect  following  her  exertion.  The  next 
day  both  her  husband  and  I  prayed  and  anointed 
her  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  The  follow¬ 
ing  Sunday,  while  in  the  morning  service,  the 
realization  came  to  her  from  God  that  she  was 
healed,  and  there  was  great  joy  in  the  camp,  I  as¬ 
sure  you.  She  has  remained  healed  ever  since. 

Given  Up  to  Die 

The  case  of  another  woman  who  was  given  up 
by  her  physician  to  die  might  be  of  interest.  A 
comrade  and  myself  came  to  this  house  (if  the 
place  where  we  found  this  woman  lying  on  a  cot 
could  be  called  a  house).  When  we  entered  the 
scene  was  touching  in  the  extreme.  In  a  little 
room,  almost  bare,  lay  this  woman.  Beside  her  cot 
stood  her  three  little  girls,  aged  five,  seven  and  ten 
years,  weeping  as  though  their  little  hearts  would 
break.  With  them  stood  two  neighbour  women, 
also  weeping  yet  trying  their  best  to  comfort  the 
broken-hearted  children. 

After  praying  with  them,  and  singing  “  J esus, 
Lover  of  My  Soul,”  we  left  the  room,  unable  to 


134  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


endure  the  sight  any  longer.  My  comrade,  who 
was  an  ex-pugilist,  said  to  me,  when  we  came  on 
the  outside,  that  the  tears  of  those  little  ones  had 
knocked  him  out  more  completely  than  the  strong¬ 
est  opponent  he  had  ever  met  in  the  ring.  In  the 
evening  meeting,  that  same  day,  a  lady  informed 
me  that  the  woman  we  visited  in  the  morning  had 
been  sitting  up  in  bed  that  afternoon  and  taking 
nourishment.  Three  days  later  this  same  sup¬ 
posedly  dying  woman  stood  with  us  in  the  open 
air,  and  in  the  presence  of  perhaps  two  hundred 
people,  told  of  her  experience  as  to  how  the  Lord 
had  saved  her  while  we  were  praying  and  singing 
at  her  bedside,  and  how  the  Lord  had  raised 
her  up. 

Converted  From  Judaism 

I  want  to  add  another  experience,  and  this  one 
is  especially  interesting  to  me,  and  I  pray  it  may 
likewise  bless  all  others  who  may  chance  to  read  it. 

At  the  time  of  my  conversion  from  Judaism  to 
Christianity  I  lived  in  southern  California,  while 
my  eldest  brother  lived  in  Oakland.  During  our 
separation  we  corresponded  regularly ;  neverthe¬ 
less,  I  withheld  from  him  the  news  of  my  con¬ 
version  to  Christianity,  hoping  to  retain  his 
brotherly  love  and  friendship  until  such  a  time  as 
God  would  open  the  way  for  mo  to  disclose  this 
truth. 

Having  been  a  Christian  about  four  years,  I 


DIVINE  HEALING 


135 


finally  went  to  San  Erancisco  to  live.  Erom  there 
I  frequently  called  on  my  brother,  as  Oakland  is 
hut  a  half-hour’s  ride  across  San  Erancisco  Bay. 
During  these  visits  I  gradually  unfolded  my  Chris¬ 
tian  experiences  to  him.  This,  of  course,  greatly 
surprised  him,  yet,  seeing  the  change  in  my  life, 
he  was  obliged  to  acknowledge  that  something  un¬ 
usual  had  happened,  though  he  could  not  under¬ 
stand  what  it  was. 

One  night  I  dreamed  of  being  in  a  sick  chamber, 
where  a  young  girl  was  lying  in  a  dying  condition. 
A  voice  seemed  to  say:  “  Pray  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  and  the  Lord  will  raise  her  up.”  At  this 
I  awoke,  wondering  at  my  dream,  for  it  all  seemed 
very  real.  The  furniture  in  the  room,  the  pic¬ 
tures  on  the  wall,  the  white  enamelled  bed,  the 
frail,  beautiful,  pale-faced  girl  with  her  eyes  closed, 
the  mother  standing  beside  the  bed,  weeping  most 
bitterly,  covering  her  face  with  her  hands,  was  all 
before  me  in  vivid  reality  rather  than  like  a 
dream. 

During  the  day  following  I  tried  my  best  to  un¬ 
ravel  the  meaning  of  this  dream.  I  tried  to  iden¬ 
tify  the  place  and  the  parties  concerned  in  it,  but 
failed.  The  following  Sunday  I  visited  my  brother 
in  Oakland  as  usual.  In  response  to  my  knock,  my 
sister-in-law  came  to  the  door. 

The  Meaning  of  the  Dream 

I  scarcely  recognized  her.  Her  face  was  swollen, 


136  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 

her  eyes  bloodshot,  and  she  could  speak  only  with 
great  difficulty.  In  amazement  I  said :  “  Why, 
Eva,  what  is  the  matter  ?  ”  With  quivering  lips, 
hardly  above  a  whisper,  she  answered :  “  Our  dear 
Elsie  is  dying.”  This  was  my  niece,  my  brother’s 
eldest  child,  a  handsome  girl  of  sixteen.  Two  emi¬ 
nent  physicians  had  given  her  up  as  hopeless  that 
night.  With  this  reply,  she  led  the  way  into  the 
sick  room.  There  before  me  lay  the  sick  girl, 
merely  breathing,  her  eyes  closed.  The  mother  was 
standing  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  broken-hearted  and 
in  tears,  with  her  face  buried  in  her  hands. 

I  need  not  tell  you  that  here  before  me  was  the 
interpretation  of  my  dream.  I  said  to  my  sister- 
in-law:  “  Don’t  cry;  this  sickness  is  not  unto 
death,  in  spite  of  the  doctor’s  decision.  I  will 
pray.  God  is  able  to  raise  her  up.”  To  this  she 
answered :  “  Are  you  going  to  pray  in  the  name 
of  Jesus?”  I  said,  “  Yes.  It  is  the  only  way  I 
can  pray  to  be  heard  by  God.”  To  this  she  replied: 
“  You  cannot  pray  in  this  house  in  that  Uame.” 
I  answered  :  a  Very  well.  I  will  leave  this  house, 
but  I  will  pray  in  the  ISTame  of  Jesus.” 

United  Prayer 

Leaving  her,  I  walked  down  Broadway,  where 
the  Christian  and  Missionary  Alliance  people  were 
holding  a  meeting.  I  requested  them  kindly  to 
unite  in  prayer  with  me  for  this  child,  which  they 
gladly  did. 


DIVINE  HEALING 


137 


My  sister-in-law  had  promised  to  let  me  know 
how  Elsie  was.  Accordingly  on  Tuesday  I  re¬ 
ceived  a  postal  card  informing  me  that  Elsie  was 
better.  I  called  there  that  evening,  and  (to  the 
glory  of  God  I  am  bearing  this  witness)  I  found 
Elsie  sitting  up  in  bed  and  her  mother  administer¬ 
ing  nourishment  to  her. 

I  said  to  my  sister-in-law:  “  This  is  the  evidence 
that  God  heard  my  prayer  for  Elsie  in  the  Name 
of  Jesus.”  To  this  she  replied:  “  If  Elsie  recov¬ 
ers,  I  will  make  a  nice  party  and  invite  all  our 
relatives  and  friends  from  San  Francisco,  and  I 
will  prepare  a  nice  dinner,  and  you  must  come  with 
Gus  [my  little  boy],  and  we  will  all  have  a  real 
good  time  together.” 

I  said  to  her:  “  No!  God  forbid  you  should  do 
anything  like  that.  When  Elsie  is  well  again  you 
must  get  down  on  your  knees  before  God  and  thank 
Him,  for  it  is  He  who  raised  up  your  child.  Un¬ 
less  you  do  this,  your  child’s  illness  may  come  back 
again.  A  thanksgiving  service  to  God  is  the  only 
kind  of  feast  I  will  have  anything  to  do  with.” 

Elsie  recovered  from  her  sickness.  Contrary  to 
the  advice  given  her  mother,  a  party  was  arranged 
for.  Friends  and  relatives  were  invited,  and  they 
had  a  good  time,  with  music  and  dancing.  I,  of 
course,  did  not  attend.  Shortly  after  this  feast 
Elsie  again  took  to  her  bed,  from  which  she  never 
again  arose, 


138  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


Dying  Giri/s  Secret 

During  her  illness  I  visited  her  frequently.  She 
was  much  interested  in  the  Old  Testament  Scrip; 
tures,  having  studied  Hebrew  under  a  Jewish 
rabbi,  and  knowing  how  I  also  was  interested  in 
the  Scriptures,  she  talked  freely  with  me  on  the 
subject.  We  discussed  many  passages  of  Scripture, 
which  her  instructor,  the  rabbi,  had  told  her  to 
omit  reading,  explaining  to  her  that  these  passages 
were  not  intended  to  be  understood  by  us.  The 
Lord,  however,  helped  me  to  understand  them  and 
I,  in  turn,  imparted  what  light  I  had  to  her.  This 
brought  great  joy  and  satisfaction  to  her.  Almost 
all  of  these  forbidden  passages  alluded  to  Christ. 

On  one  of  these  visits  she  confided  to  me,  with 
her  face  beaming  with  joy,  “  Oh,  uncle!  ”  she  said, 
“  I  now  see  that  this  Jesus  is  truly  the  Messiah. 
Isn’t  it  wonderful !  ”  Then  she  added,  “  But 
please  don’t  let  mamma  or  papa  know  what  I 
said.” 

This,  however,  proved  to  be  the  last  opportunity 
I  had  of  seeing  her  in  this  world,  for  shortly  after 
I  received  a  note  from  my  brother  containing  but 
one  line,  and  that  was,  “  Don’t  you  ever  dare  to 
cross  my  threshold.”  I  never  have.  I  crossed  the 
Bay  with  my  little  boy  every  week,  taking  a  bou¬ 
quet  of  the  choicest  flowers  I  could  find.  These  I 
would  send  to  the  house  of  my  brother  for  Elsie 
by  my  little  son,  nine  years  old,  while  I  remained 
two  blocks  away  from  the  house. 


DIVINE  HEALING 


139 


This  continued  for  some  months,  until  one  morn¬ 
ing  early  my  little  hoy  said  to  me :  “  Papa,  I  saw 
Elsie  in  my  dream.  I  seemed  to  he  playing  in  our 
front  yard,  when  suddenly  I  heard  some  one 
calling,  6  Gussie,  Gussie ! 7  I  looked  around,  and 
by  the  gate  stood  Elsie,  dressed  in  pure  white;  she 
looked  so  beautiful  and  happy.  She  waved  her 
hand  to  me,  saying,  ( By-by,  Gussie.  I  must  re¬ 
turn  whence  I  came,7  and  off  she  skipped  across  the 
street  laughing,  and  I  woke  up.77 

Parents'  Anguish 

We  crossed  the  Bay  that  day  as  usual  with  a  nice 
bouquet  of  flowers.  I  waited  on  the  corner  while 
my  little  hoy  went  to  the  house.  This  time  he  re¬ 
turned  with  the  sad  message :  “  Uncle  Isidor  is 
walking  the  floor  with  his  hands  clasped  behind. 
Aunt  Elva  took  the  flowers  and  told  me  that 
Elsie  was  buried  last  Wednesday.  They  were  all 
crying.77 

Other  similar  cases  might  be  given,  but  these 
will  suffice  as  a  testimony  to  substantiate  the  truth 
that  the  Lord  is  faithful  to  His  promise :  “  Lo,  I 
am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world,77  and  that  He  is  faithful  to  His  disciples 
now,  as  in  the  past,  “  working  with  them  with  signs 
and  wonders  following.77 

“  Comfort  one  another  with  these  words — that 
ye  sorrow  not,  even  as  others  which  have  no  hope. — 
For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again, 


140  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God 
bring  with  him.”  Before  closing  let  me  add  just 
one  more  experience.  This  is  done  with  the  prayer 
that  this  message  may  reach  some  hearts  in  need  of 
comfort  as  was  my  own  when  the  Lord  sent  it. 

I  have  before  alluded  to  my  boy,  four  years  old, 
whom  the  Lord  saw  fit  to  take  to  Himself,  whose 
death  occurred  shortly  before  my  conversion.  I 
loved  this  child  very  dearly,  not  only  because  I  was 
his  parent,  but  because  he  was  of  such  a  sweet,  an¬ 
gelic  disposition.  This  loss  to  me  seemed  irrepa¬ 
rable.  Although  I  had  now  been  converted  and  my 
hope  and  trust  were  in  God,  yet  I  could  not  be 
reconciled.  My  heart  was  broken,  and  a  loneliness 
and  desire  for  this  child  would  steal  over  me  at 
times  that  seemed  quite  unbearable. 

At  the  end  of  one  very  sad  day  of  this  kind,  the 
Lord  gave  me  a  very  glorious  night.  Truly, 
“  Weeping  may  endure  for  a  night,  but  joy  cometh 
in  the  morning.”  In  my  sleep  I  saw  the  sky  cut 
in  half,  the  right  side  of  which  was  rolled  away, 
the  left  side  remaining  a  very  clear  blue.  The 
space  where  the  sky  had  been  was  filled  with  the 
most  beautiful  light;  not  glaring  or  painful  to  the 
eyes,  as  excessive  light  generally  is,  but  mellow, 
soft  and  inviting. 

While  I  was  interested  in  this  beautiful  light,  I 
suddenly  observed  human  beings  coming  from  be¬ 
hind  the  blue  part  of  the  sky  into  the  light,  and 
then  downward  toward  the  earth  on  an  angle  of 


DIVINE  HEALING 


141 


perhaps  forty-five  degrees.  They  came  two  and 
three  abreast,  a  sort  of  procession.  They  were  of 
different  sizes,  very  much  as  one  ordinarily  sees  in 
a  public  gathering.  Among  the  grown  people  were 
also  a  goodly  mixture  of  children,  dressed  alike  in 
pure  white  robes,  but  such  white  as  I  have  never 
seen  in  this  world.  Their  faces  and  hair  were  still 
whiter;  snow  in  its  purest  state  could  not  compare 
with  it.  They  did  not  walk,  they  glided  along 
gently.  There  was  no  sound  of  any  kind  but  per¬ 
fect  stillness  prevailed.  None  of  them  were  known 
to  me,  but  they  all  looked  happy,  contented  and 
perfectly  free  from  care.  While  I  was  most  in¬ 
tensely  interested  and  enraptured  with  the  sight, 
a  voice  said:  a  The  first  one  is  Jesus !  ”  I  quickly 
looked  down  the  line  and  caught  a  glimpse  of  Him, 
and  just  as  quickly  after  I  awoke  surprised  and  dis¬ 
appointed  to  find  myself  in  bed.  I  tried  to  shut 
my  eyes  and  see  it  all  again,  but  the  curtain  had 
dropped,  the  scene  was  past,  but  not  forgotten — it 
never  can  be. 

Some  to  whom  I  told  this  experience  wanted  to 
know  what  Jesus  looked  like,  and  perhaps  you 
would  like  to  know.  Well,  He  looked  like  all  the 
others,  or  rather,  they  looked  like  Him.  I  would 
not  have  known  Him  from  the  rest,  except  for  the 
voice  which  said:  “  The  first  one  is  Jesus.”  In 
the  morning  I  could  only  weep  for  joy  and  praise 
the  Lord.  From  that  moment  all  my  grief  and 
sorrow  for  my  child  left  me,  and  to  this  hour  I  have 


142  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


had  no  anxiety  for  him,  knowing  that  he  is  in  a 
better  world  than  this,  and  in  better  company. 

Hot  until  I  had  this  experience  did  I  fully  com¬ 
prehend  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  the  Lord: 
“  He  came  to  comfort  all  that  mourn,  to  give  the 
oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  the  garment  of  praise  for 
the  spirit  of  heaviness.” 


XV 


HOME  TIES  BROKEN-CAST  OFF  BY 

PARENTS 

E  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more 
than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me.”  From 
the  beginning  of  my  Christian  experi¬ 
ence  I  longed  to  tell  my  dear  old  father  who  was 
then  living  with  my  sisters  in  New  York  the  news 
of  my  wonderful  salvation,  hut  I  could  not  bear  the 
thought  of  the  results  I  knew  must  follow.  It 
nearly  broke  my  heart  even  to  think  of  the  conse¬ 
quences,  so  I  put  it  off  from  time  to  time,  until 
two  years  had  elapsed. 

During  this  interval  I  had  often  died  in  my 
heart  and  mind,  so  the  message  from  my  loved  ones 
bearing  the  news  that  I  was  dead  and  buried  to 
them  should  not  have  been  any  surprise  to  me.  I 
finally  wrote,  telling  them  that  I  had  found  Christ 
really  to  be  the  Messiah.  The  result  was  as  ex¬ 
pected.  I  received  a  letter  in  which  the  sentiment 
of  the  whole  family  was  summed  up.  They  set 
forth  what  seemed  to  them  my  folly  and  delusion, 
then  they  tried  to  show  me  their  right  way. 

Winding  up  their  letter  hoping  to  hear  at  once 

that  I  had  recovered  my  senses,  and  that  I  would 

143 


144  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


hold  to  the  belief  of  my  fathers.  If,  however,  I 
did  not  retrace  my  steps,  and  give  up  my  belief  in 
Christ,  they  would  then  be  obliged  to  separate 
themselves  from  me  forever. 

In  reply  to  this  letter  I  showed  them  plainly 
from  the  Jewish  Bible  that  this  Christ  whom  I 
worshipped  was  the  real  Messiah,  promised  unto 
us  by  God  in  the  Old  Testament  and  reve&led  to 
our  forefathers  in  due  time  in  the  person  of  Jesus 
Christ.  I  proved  to  them  that  He  is  the  substance 
of  things  hoped  for,  in  the  form  of  the  Jewish  re¬ 
ligion,  and  that  Moses  and  the  prophets  were  only 
the  guiding  stars  that  lead  to  Him.  I  assured  them 
that  in  Him  I  had  something  tangible  to  lay  hold 
on  which  is  not  possible  in  the  form  of  the  Jewish 
religion.  While  it  would  he  very  hard  for  me  to 
sacrifice  my  own  flesh  and  blood,  which  was  so  dear 
to  me,  yet  in  the  face  of  what  I  now  knew,  through 
the  experience  I  enjoyed  I  could  by  no  means  give 
up  my  faith  in  Christ,  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and 
eternal  life. 

After  this  letter  I  received  another,  which  was 
the  last.  This  contained  the  final  sentence  of 
death,  stating  that  henceforth  they  should  all  con¬ 
sider  me  dead  and  buried,  and  should  sit  in  mourn¬ 
ing  for  me  according  to  the  Jewish  custom. 

Although  there  had  been  two  years  in  which  to 
prepare  for  this  ordeal,  yet  when  the  final  blow 
came  it  struck  the  tenderest  chords  of  affection  in 
my  soul,  and  the  pain  was  great. 


HOME  TIES  BROKEN— CAST  OFF  145 


There  were  memories  of  childhood, 

And  of  mother’s  gentle  care; 

There  was  the  home  and  its  fireside, 

And  my  father’s  daily  prayer; 

There  was  love,  and  there  was  sorrow, 

In  which  our  hearts  as  one  would  share. 

And  this  and  more  rose  before  me.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  again  saw  Jesus  hanging  on  the  Cross  in 
agony  and  pain  with  His  precious  blood  flowing 
for  my  sins.  Afresh  I  saw  that  “  He  was  wounded 
for  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  in¬ 
iquities,  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon 
him;  and  with  his  stripes  we  are  healed.”  Finally, 
I  realized  that  he  who  would  follow  Him  must  also 
take  up  his  cross  daily. 

At  this  time  and  by  these  circumstances,  the 
Lord,  Who  was  always  so  gentle  and  kind,  drew 
me  much  closer  to  Himself.  He  supplied  the  neces¬ 
sary  grace  to  bear  the  cross,  and  I  bore  it  patiently, 
praising  Him  for  the  privilege  of  sharing  His  suf¬ 
ferings,  “  For  if  we  suffer  with  him  we  shall  also 
reign  with  him  ” ;  thus  by  actual  experience  I 
learned  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  the  Apostle 
Paul :  “  Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
Christ?  Shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecu¬ 
tion,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword? 
— Hay,  in  all  these  things,  we  are  more  than  con¬ 
querors  through  him  that  loved  us.” 

Having  spent  about  five  happy  and,  I  believe, 
useful  years  in  the  Salvation  Army  work  on  the 


146  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


Pacific  'Coast,  we  received  orders  one  day  to  fare¬ 
well  and  proceed  at  once  for  Boston,  Mass. 

Colonel  William  Evans,  who  formerly  had 
charge  of  the  Pacific  Coast  and  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  was  now  in  command  of  the  Hew  England 
Province  with  Headquarters  at  Boston.  It  was 
through  his  kindly  solicitation  our  transfer  was  ef¬ 
fected.  We  spent  three  very  blessed  years  in 
various  capacities  during  his  command  in  this 
Province,  having  charge  of  Prison  work,  Free  Em¬ 
ployment  Bureau,  Fresh  Air  Home,  Special  Ef¬ 
forts,  and  various  other  responsible  duties  of  trust, 
beside  preaching  every  week  end  at  the  different 
Corps. 

When  seven  years  ago  Colonel  Evans  farewelled 
from  here  for  other  parts,  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Gifford 
took  command.  This  change  in  administrators  did 
not,  however,  in  any  way  affect  our  appointment 
or  labours.  We  continued  right  on  in  our  regulai* 
course  of  duties.  Neither  did  this  change  in  any 
way  affect  our  faithfulness  to  God,  or  our  loyalty 
to  the  principles  of  the  Salvation  Army. 

Under  the  able  leadership  of  Colonel  and  Mrs. 
Gifford,  we  have  now  spent  twelve  very  gratifying 
years  of  practical  service  for  God  in  the  Hew  Eng¬ 
land  Province,  and  I  am  glad  to  say,  that  during 
all  this  time  our  relations  and  Christian  fellowship 
under  all  circumstances  have  always  been  of  the 
sweetest  and  most  cordial  nature. 

A  year  ago  Colonel  Gifford  decided  to  relieve  me 


HOME  TIES  BROKEN — CAST  OFF  147 


from  office  duties  entirely  and  change  my  work  to 
that  of  “  Spiritual  Special/7  henceforth  my  work 
was  to  be  that  of  holding  revival  meetings  through¬ 
out  the  New  England  Province,  while  Mrs.  Abrams 
was  still  to  continue  the  work  at  our  office. 

This  change  of  work  naturally  involved  new 
obligations  and  more  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  both 
of  us.  But  how  can  we  either  think  or  speak  of 
any  sacrifices  on  our  part,  when  we  are  “  looking 
unto  Jesus,  the  author  and  the  finisher  of  our 
faith;  who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him  en¬ 
dured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame/7  that  He, 
through  His  suffering,  might  bring  us  unto  God. 
Both  Mrs.  Abrams  and  myself  accepted  this  change 
of  appointment  with  its  additional  privileges  and 
opportunities  most  joyfully  with  thankfulness  to 
God,  that  we  were  found  worthy  of  Him  and  the 
Salvation  Army  for  this  new  field  of  usefulness. 

Thus  in  my  new  sphere  as  the  “  Hebrew  Evan¬ 
gelist  77  I  have  been  going  about  from  place  to 
place,  holding  special  campaigns,  resulting,  we 
hope,  in  much  good.  I  pray  my  labours  for  the 
Master  in  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  may  con¬ 
tinue  for  many  more  years  to  come. 

There  is  no  work  under  heaven  to  be  compared 
to  that  of  winning  souls  for  God.  Neither  is  there 
anything  dearer  or  more  precious  to  me. 

“  I  am  Thine,  O  Lord,  I  have  heard  Thy  Voice, 

And  it  told  Thy  love  to  me; 

But  I  long  to  rise  in  the  arms  of  faith, 


148  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


And  be  closer  drawn  to  Thee. 

Draw  me  nearer,  nearer,  nearer,  blessed  Lord, 

To  the  cross  where  Thou  hast  died ! 

Draw  me  nearer,  nearer,  nearer,  blessed  Lord, 

To  Thy  precious  bleeding  side.” 

Not  having  seen  one  of  my  sisters  for  twenty 
years,  I  was,  naturally,  very  desirous  of  doing  so. 
Despite  the  fact  that  she  with  my  other  relatives 
had  written  me  that  henceforth,  since  becoming  a 
Christian,  I  would  be  considered  dead  and  buried, 
I  thought  I  would  venture  calling  on  her.  I  ob¬ 
tained  relief  from  duty  to  go  to  New  York  for  this 
purpose.  With  the  aid  of  the  city  directory  I  had 
no  trouble  in  finding  her. 

In  the  directory  I  saw  she  was  in  business  in 
the  Bronx.  I  made  my  way  there.  Arriving  on 
the  designated  street  corner,  I  saw  the  name  of  the 
firm — a  Notion  Store.  I  wanted  first  to  get  a  gen¬ 
eral  survey  of  the  situation  before  making  my 
presence  known. 

I  went  into  the  store,  walked  up  to  the  gents 
furnishing  counter,  and  asked  my  brother-in-law, 
who  I  saw  stepped  forward  to  wait  on  me,  to  show 
me  some  handkerchiefs.  He  at  once  laid  out  a 
quantity  of  different  quality  to  select  from.  I  was 
purposely  hard  to  please,  but  finally  decided  and 
made  my  purchase. 

I  had  noticed  him  casting  looks  of  suspicion  at 
me,  but  I  pretended  not  to  see  it.  Before  leaving, 
I  turned  and  asked  for  the  privilege  of  writing  a 
postal  card;  this  request  was  courteously  granted, 


HOME  TIES  BROKEN— CAST  OFF  149 


and  a  pen  and  ink-well  were  handed  me  for  that 
purpose. 

While  writing  my  brother-in-law  stepped  to  the 
rear  part  of  the  store  and  called  upstairs  for  my 
sister  to  come  down  quickly;  shortly  both  were 
standing  in  the  rear  part  of  the  store  talking  in 
the  German  language.  He  was  saying  to  her: 
“  That  man  writing  there  looks  just  like  your 
brother.”  She  replied:  “No;  that  cannot  be,  for 
he  is  in  California.”  But  her  husband  insisted, 
saying:  “  You  watch  his  face  when  he  turns.” 

Just  then  I  was  through  writing  and  turned  to 
return  the  ink-well  and  thank  him  for  the  use  of 
it.  My  brother-in-law  looked  me  in  the  face,  and 
with  quivering  voice  said :  “  Pardon  me,  but  you 
very  much  resemble  my  brother-in-law  who  years 
ago  went  to  California.” 

“  Is  that  so  ?  ”  I  said,  “  I  have  been  in  Cali¬ 
fornia,  and  have  only  lately  returned.” 

His  face  lit  up  as  he  asked  for  my  name.  I  told 
him  and  he  seemed  very  happily  surprised  and 
greeted  me  kindly. 

My  sister,  however,  was  not  so  easily  convinced. 
She  said:  “No,  this  is  not  my  brother.”  I  con¬ 
vinced  her  before  long,  however,  that  I  was.  After 
greeting  me  she  said :  “  Is  it  true  that  you  are  a 
Christian  ?  ”  I  said :  “  Yes,  my  dear,  I  am  a 
Christian.” 

“  Oh,”  she  exclaimed,  “  how  can  you  be  a  Chris¬ 
tian,  when  the  Christians  murdered  your  brother  ?  ” 


150  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


I  had  not  known  that  my  brother  in  Germany 
was  dead.  This  was  a  great  shock  and  surprise  to 
me.  I  was  not  in  correspondence  with  my  people 
and  therefore  did  not  know  that  my  brother  had 
died. 

Amid  sobs  and  tears  my  sister  related  to  me  the 
story  of  his  death: 

When  the  Poles,  she  said,  in  the  Province  of 
Posen  arose  in  rebellion  against  Germany,  seeking 
their  independence,  they  immediately  raised  a 
pogrom  against  the  Jews. 

Bands,  numbering  from  twenty-five  to  hundreds, 
traveled  through  the  country  from  town  to  town 
equipped  with  all  manner  of  weapons.  They  en¬ 
tered  every  home  suspected  of  being  inhabited  by 
Jews.  They  first  ransacked  the  house  for  valu¬ 
ables,  then  they  unmercifully  cut,  slashed  and  most 
cruelly  murdered  men?  women  and  children;  they 
outraged  women  and  maids  of  tender  age.  My  sis¬ 
ter  wept  most  bitterly  as  she  related  some  of  the 
most  ghastly  incidents  of  cruelty.  “  Oh,”  she  said, 
“  if  they  had  only  killed  them  outright  as  a  butcher 
kills  pigs  it  would  have  been  a  mercy.” 

But  in  their  brutality  they  first  tortured  them  in 
the  most  cruel  and  heartless  manner.  They  seemed 
to  enjoy  hearing  the  awful  screams  of  frightful 
horror  and  distress,  and  the  heartrending  agonies 
of  these  poor,  helpless  victims. 

“  Your  brother,”  she  said,  “  was  tortured  to 


HOME  TIES  BROKEN— CAST  OFF  151 


death  by  these  Christian  wretches.  How  can  you 
be  a  Christian  ? 77 

“  My  dear  sister/7  I  said,  “  these  people  who  are 
guilty  of  such  outrageous  crimes  were  not  Chris¬ 
tians,  they  were  brutes.77 

“  But,77  said  she,  “  they  carried  crosses  to  prove 
that  they  were  Christians,  and  by  these  crosses  dis¬ 
played  in  the  homes  of  Christians,  these  mobs  dis¬ 
tinguished  the  Jewish  homes  from  those  of  Chris¬ 
tians.77 

I  tried  my  best  to  show  her  what  constitutes  a 
Christian,  by  showing  her  first  the  beautiful  char¬ 
acter  of  Christ,  that  He  was  “  Holy,  harmless,  un¬ 
defiled  and  separate  from  sinners,77  and  told  her 
that  Christians  are  Christlike  in  their  character, 
for  we  are  partakers  of  His  divine  nature  and  can¬ 
not  do  evil,  and  especially  would  Christians  not 
harm  Jews  for  they  love  the  Jews  above  any  other 
people,  but,  poor  soul,  she  could  not  understand 
me.  She  maintained  I  had  joined  this  murderous 
gang  of  cutthroats  and  with  her  head  bowed  on  my 
breast,  she  sobbed  most  bitterly. 

Again  I  thought,  “  Oh,  if  our  people  could  only 
more  frequently  come  in  contact  with  real  Chris¬ 
tians,  what  a  difference  it  would  make  if  they  could 
learn  to  distinguish  between  the  unconverted  Gen¬ 
tiles  and  those  who  really  are  converted  through 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  How  much  easier  it  would 
be  for  my  dear  people  to  accept  Christ  as  their  own 
Saviour.77 


XVI 


AX  APPEAL  TO  THE  CHUECH 

EVEE  since  I  first  came  into  the  light  of  the 
Gospel,  and  realized  fully  what  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  through  His  atonement,  had 
done  for  me  and  what  He  is  able  and  willing  to 
do  for  all  who  will  come  unto  Him,  a  great  desire 
sprang  up  in  my  heart  to  publish  this  wonderful 
news  of  salvation  to  my  dear  people.  In  the  lan¬ 
guage  of  the  poet,  I  felt: 

“  Oh !  that  the  world  would  taste  and  see 
The  riches  of  His  grace, 

The  arms  of  Love  that  compass  me, 

Would  all  mankind  embrace.” 

In  San  Francisco  this  long-cherished  hope  was 
realized.  I  found  a  Mission  here  to  the  Jews. 
This  Mission  I  visited  regularly  and  did  all  in  my 
power  to  help.  My  labours  were  not  in  vain.  Sev¬ 
eral  Jewish  brethren  came  into  the  light  through 
this  effort, — some  who  are  now,  in  turn,  preach¬ 
ing  the  Gospel  to  others. 

There  was,  however,  much  lacking  to  make  this 
work  the  success  it  might  have  been.  First,  it  was 
without  adequate  financial  support,  and,  secondly, 

the  Christian  people  of  the  community  failed  to 

152 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


153 


give  it  the  moral  support  it  deserved.  Christians 
of  all  denominations  were  supposed  to  have  an 
equal  share  of  interest  in  its  financial  obligations 
and  general  success.  But,  alas!  only  a  few  re¬ 
sponded.  The  heavier  responsibility  was  left  to  a 
Mr.  Chester,  himself  a  converted  Jew,  and  a  few 
faithful  friends  interested  in  the  cause.  This 
neglect  resulted,  finally,  in  the  work  being  closed. 

This  lack  of  interest  in  the  salvation  of  my 
people  became  a  great  burden  and  sorrow  to  me. 
I  saw  them  perishing  all  about  me,  without  any 
knowledge  or  hope  of  salvation,  and  no  effort  being 
put  forth  to  save  them.  I  spent  months  in  prayer, 
and  nights  in  tears,  over  the  matter.  !Not  seeing  a 
door  open  where  I  could  invest  what  little  talent 
I  possessed  in  helping  toward  their  salvation,  I 
planned  how  best  I  could  open  one  for  myself.  By 
the  grace  of  God  I  did  not  want  to  be  that  unprofit¬ 
able  servant,  who,  because  he  only  had  received  one 
talent  went  and  hid  it  in  the  earth,  and  unto  whom 
the  Lord  said :  “  Thou  wicked  and  slothful  servant 
— take,  therefore,  the  talent  from  him, — and  cast 
ye  the  unprofitable  servant  into  outer  darkness; 
there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.” 

After  much  prayer  and  meditation  on  the  sub¬ 
ject,  a  project  gradually  unfolded  in  my  mind,  but 
it  was  of  such  a  rare  and  contrary  character, 
humanly  considered,  that  it  cost  me  a  great  strug¬ 
gle  before  undertaking  it.  Often  I  wished  I  could 
give  it  up.  I  saw  the  only  way  for  me  to  reach 


154  OUT  OF,  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


my  people  single-handed  and  alone,  was  the  street 
comer,  How  the  question  arose,  how  to  get  their 
ear  ? — how  to  attract  their  attention  ?  I  had  no 
music,  not  being  able  to  play  an  instrument  myself, 
nor  had  I  the  means  to  procure  such  assistance, 
supporting  myself  and  child  as  I  did  by  washing 
dishes  in  a  restaurant.  Finally,  I  had  a  coat  made 
for  myself  and  one  for  my  little  boy,  then  ten 
years  of  age,  of  black  cloth,  with  fire-red  breasts, 
on  which  I  had  embroidered,  with  rich  coloured 
silk,  in  large,  attractive  letters :  “  Holiness  unto 
the  Lord.77  This  more  than  answered  the  desired 
purpose.  Dressed  in  these  novel  garments,  my 
boy  and  I  took  our  stand  on  the  street  corner.  By 
this  means  we  had  no  trouble  whatever  in  getting 
a  crowd.  In  the  eyes  of  the  world  we  must  have 
appeared  like  simpletons,  but  with  the  help  of  God 
I  accomplished  the  desired  end.  In  a  few  minutes 
we  had  a  fair-sized  audience.  On  mounting  a  lit¬ 
tle  folding  platform  I  carried  for  the  purpose,  I 
looked  into  the  eyes  of  a  most  anxious  and  ex¬ 
pectant  audience,  often  holding  the  attention  of 
from  two  to  three  hundred  people  for  two  hours 
and  sometimes  longer,  until  too  weak  and  exhausted 
to  go  on.  Having  an  ordinary  street  crowd  con¬ 
sisting  of  a  mixed  congregation,  afforded  me 
greater  liberty  and  advantage  to  address  the  Jews, 
it  had  the  effect  of  bridling  their  inward  indigna¬ 
tion  and  holding  their  wrath  within  limit.  It  did 
provoke  some  to  great  anger  to  hear  one  of  their 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


155 


own  people  preaching  unto  them  Christ,  as  their 
only  hope  of  salvation. 

Some  of  the  more  ignorant,  rude  fellows  seemed 
to  fairly  foam  at  the  mouth  for  madness.  They 
gnashed  their  teeth,  they  cursed  and  swore  at  me 
in  Yiddish  and  in  Russian  or  Polish  so  that  the 
Gentiles  present  would  not  be  able  to  understand 
what  they  said.  But  the  fear  of  the  law  and  the 
populace  kept  them  within  limit,  and  thus,  in  spite 
of  themselves,  they  heard  the  Gospel  and  my  testi¬ 
mony,  and  by  this  light  they  shall  he  judged  on 
that  “  Great  Hay  of  the  Lord.” 

Thank  God  for  this  Christian  country,  and  for 
the  Yame  of  Jesus  Christ  who  purchased  this  lib¬ 
erty  for  us  on  the  cross  of  Calvary  with  TIis  own 
precious  blood,  making  us  worthy  to  bear  testimony 
in  His  name  before  this  wicked  world. 

Many  thousands  heard  the  Gospel  preached  in 
this  way,  as  I  kept  these  meetings  up  for  about  a 
year,  preaching  every  Sunday  afternoon,  weather 
permitting. 

Hor  did  the  Jews  alone  hear  the  Gospel  by  this 
means,  but  many  others  as  well.  Some  of  my 
street  experiences  were  most  touching  and  pathetic. 
I  took  up  no  collections,  nor  did  I  accept  money 
from  anyone,  but  often,  after  closing  the  meeting, 
men  came  to  me  with  tears,  offering  me  money  for 
which  I  thanked  them  heartily,  but  told  them  I  was 
well  provided  for  and  had  no  lack  of  anything. 
(Of  course  these  people  were  not  Jews.) 


156  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


On  several  occasions  I  had  men  follow  me,  say¬ 
ing  they  wanted  to  find  the  Christ  and  the  experi¬ 
ences  they  had  heard  me  talk  about.  Having  no 
other  place,  I  took  them  into  a  hallway  or  some 
other  accessible  place  of  retirement  and  there 
knelt  with  them  in  prayer.  The  most  insulting 
infamies  were  often  hurled  at  me  in  those  public 
gatherings  by  coarse,  ignorant  Jews,  who  called 
out  in  loud  voices  that  some  church  had  hired  me 
for  a  large  sum  of  money  to  do  this  work.  Again, 
others  said  I  had  married  a  rich  Christian  woman, 
who  was  supporting  me;  still  others  declared  that 
I  was  beside  myself  and  I  had  just  come  out  of 
prison  after  serving  a  term  of  years  for  robbing  a 
Jewish  banker. 

But  none  of  these  false  accusations  moved  me 
in  any  way,  as  by  this  time  I  was  dead  to  persecu¬ 
tion.  I  had  faced  it  on  my  knees  before  God  long 
before  I  ever  dared  to  step  out  on  the  street  cor¬ 
ner — and  so  had  died  to  it  all  by  that  time.  What 
I  needed,  now,  was  the  grace  of  God;  and  this  He 
most  wonderfully  supplied.  Never  once  in  all  my 
experience  did  the  Lord  ever  fail  me  or  let  me  be 
confounded  before  my  audience.  Often  most  awk¬ 
ward  and  difficult  questions  were  put  to  me,  but 
the  Lord  never  failed  in  providing  a  proper  answer. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  had  some  very  pleasant  and 
interesting  opportunities  among  some  of  the  better, 
more  intelligent  Jewish  people.  These  would  call 
on  me  in  my  leisure  hours,  bringing  their  own 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


157 


Bibles  with  them.  I  would  go  over  the  Scriptures 
with  them,  searching  out  and  proving  to  them  the 
things  they  had  heard  me  preach  in  the  street. 
Among  these  inquiries  I  found  many  earnest,  hun¬ 
gry  souls.  I  prayed  with  quite  a  few  who  accepted 
Christ.  What  results  really  followed  all  these 
meetings,  only  eternity  will  disclose. 

I  became  thoroughly  convinced,  since  God  in 
His  mercy  had  so  graciously  saved  me  from  my 
sins,  and  brought  my  darkened  sin-bound  soul  into 
the  marvelous  light  and  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God, 
that  He  is  abundantly  able  to  do  the  same  for  all 
the  rest  of  my  people.  I  read  in  my  Bible :  “  Be¬ 
hold!  the  Lord’s  hand  is  not  shortened  that  it  can¬ 
not  save;  neither  his  ear  heavy,  that  it  cannot 
hear.”  The  hindrance  to  their  salvation,  I  saw 
very  clearly,  is  not  with  God,  nor  with  the  Jews 
themselves,  because  they  are  blind  and  helpless,  but 
with  those  who  hold  the  key  to  their  salvation. 
That  key  is  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  “  It  is  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  everyone  that  be- 
lieveth.”  But  how  shall  they  believe  in  Him,  of 
whom  they  have  not  heard,  and  how  shall  they  hear 
without  a  preacher?  “  For  faith  cometh  by  hear¬ 
ing  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God.” 

I  became  thoroughly  convinced  if,  in  addition  to 
preaching  the  Gospel,  our  Christian  friends  would 
only  more  carefully  exemplify  the  teachings  of 
Christ  unto  their  Jewish  neighbours  in  a  practical 
way  by  their  daily  life  and  conduct,  proving  unto 


158  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


them  their  faith  in  God  by  their  works,  “  Love 
their  neighbours  as  themselves/7  Jews  would  soon 
come  to  recognize  in  the  life  of  Christians  the  faith 
and  character  of  their  own  fathers  and  become  con¬ 
vinced  that  Christ  must,  in  very  deed,  be  that  seed 
of  Abraham  in  whom  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
are  to  be  blessed.  As  a  result,  Jewish  Christians 
would  “  spring  up  as  among  the  grass,  as  willows 
by  the  water-courses.77  Isaiah  44 : 4.  The  Chris¬ 
tian  Church,  on  the  other  hand,  would  become  con¬ 
vinced  that  Jews  to-day  do  not  particularly  have 
to  go  to  Palestine  to  become  converted,  as  the 
opinion  of  many  seems  to  be.  Thank  God,  we  are 
living  in  the  day  of  grace,  and  Christ  is  to  be  found 
in  every  place,  and  by  everyone  who  will  seek  for 
Him  with  all  the  heart. 

What  Is  Heeded: 

One  of  the  most  important  things  at  all  times, 
and  especially  just  now,  when  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  our  people  are  being  stirred  as  never  before  in 
all  history,  is  the  proper  presentation  of  the  truths 
of  salvation. 

What  is  necessary  in  this  respect,  is,  first,  to  live 
the  life  of  Christ  by  the  professed  followers  of 
Christ  so  that  the  Jews  may  see  the  practical  side 
of  Christianity.  Hext,  the  ardent  proclamation  of 
the  eternal  truth  that  they  may  hear  it. 

Then  constant  and  urgent  following  up  of  liv¬ 
ing,  and  by  co-operation  with  the  Holy  Ghost  in 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


159 


the  work  of  personally  persuading  men  and  women 
to  accept  Christ,  thus  by  seeing  and  hearing  they 
may  be  led  to  definite  decision. 

Too  often,  I  fear,  do  those  who  are  indifferent 
to  salvation,  altogether,  base  their  non-regard  for 
it  upon  the  attitude  of  some  professors.  This  is 
true  of  Tews  as  well  as  Gentiles. 

Unfortunately,  the  only  difference  which  can  be 
discerned  between  some  professing  Christians  and 
the  ordinary  respectable  worldling  is  the  verbal  ac¬ 
ceptance  of  a  creed,  the  performance  of  some  rites. 
Salvation  as  a  genial  warmth,  a  fervour,  a  trans¬ 
forming  fire,  changing  them  into  new  creatures, 
they  have  never  known. 

Showing  up  the  faults  of  the  Tews  will  not  save 
them,  neither  will  it  help  them  to  God  to  exploit 
their  virtues.  The  saying  that  “  people  who  live 
in  glass  houses  ought  not  to  throw  stones,”  may  be 
well  applied  here.  We  are  all  bad  enough  by 
nature.  “  There  is  none  good,  no  not  one.”  “  It 
is  of  the  Lord’s  mercies  that  wre  are  not  [all]  con¬ 
sumed,  because  his  compassions  fail  not.” 

I  verily  believe  if  the  Gospel  which,  in  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  Christianity,  brought  salvation  to  the 
thousands  of  Tews  in  Terusalem  and  in  Tudaea 
were  preached  again  to  the  Tews  in  the  same  man¬ 
ner  in  these  latter  days,  the  same  results  would 
again  follow.  “  To  as  many  as  received  him  them 
gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,”  and 
to  as  many  as  receive  Him  now,  thank  God,  there 


160  OUT  O U  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


is  given  the  same  power.  Of  this  I — with  thou¬ 
sands  of  other  converted  J ews — am  a  living  witness 
— to  the  Church,  to  the  Jews,  and  to  the  world. 

But  some  will  say,  “  the  Jews  don’t  want  Christ.” 
That  is  quite  true,  hut  that  is  likewise  true  of  all 
other  people  wdio  are  not  Jews.  As  a  preacher  of 
the  Gospel  for  the  past  eighteen  years  unto  the 
Gentiles,  my  experience  has  been  that  the  uncon¬ 
verted  present  in  every  evangelistic  service,  as  a 
rule,  don’t  want  Christ.  It  is  through  the  preach¬ 
ing  of  the  Gospel  we  try  to  persuade  men  to  accept 
Christ.  To  this  end  we  pray,  entreat,  encourage, 
and  by  Holy  Scripture,  and  personal  experience, 
strive  to  convince  them  of  their  great  need. 

In  our  anxious  endeavour  to  win  them  for 
Christ,  we  deal  with  them  lovingly  and  kindly,  and 
like  a  mother  weeping  over  her  erring  children,  so 
we  often  plead  with  them  in  tears  before  they  sur¬ 
render  and  accept  Christ  as  their  Saviour. 

Whatever  souls  God  has  enabled  me  to  win  for 
His  Kingdom  have  been  won  through  the  Spirit, 
which  worketh  by  love.  My  experience  has  taught 
me  that  the  means  which  can  reach  the  heart  of  the 
Gentile,  can  also  reach  the  heart  of  the  Jew.  For 
we  read :  “  He  fashioneth  their  hearts  alike.”  My 
experience  you  will  find  is  the  testimony  of  every 
true-hearted  evangelist.  The  excuse,  therefore, 
that  “  Jews  don’t  want  Christ,”  is  in  my  estima¬ 
tion  no  reason  at  all  as  to  why  the  Gospel  should 
not  be  preached  to  them  just  as  it  is  being  preached 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


161 


to  all  others  who,  equally  with  them,  don’t  want 
Christ.  These  poor  souls  being  blinded  to  the 
truth  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin,  cannot  see 
their  danger  and  do  not  realize  their  perilous  con¬ 
dition  without  Christ,  no  more  than  does  a  child 
playing  on  a  brink  of  a  dangerous  precipice,  or  a 
blind  man  standing  on  a  track  in  front  of  an  on- 
rushing  train. 

Jesus  knew  their  danger,  and  while  in  life  He 
constantly  warned  them,  and  by  every  means  in 
His  power  tried  to  save  them.  I  am  confident  He 
did  not  like  their  ways,  and  I  am  sure  He  did  not 
approve  of  their  conduct,  but  He  loved  them. 
When  after  three  years  of  ceaseless  effort  and  toil, 
they  as  a  nation  finally  rejected  Him,  even  then 
He  did  not  give  them  up,  but  in  mercy  still  prayed 
for  them,  even  on  the  Cross,  saying,  “  Father,  for¬ 
give  them  for  they  know  not  what  they  do.”  Then 
out  of  devotion  and  love  to  their  never  dying  souls, 
He  laid  down  His  life  to  save  them. 

The  Jewish  people  having  for  centuries  suffered 
the  most  unjust  and  cruel  treatment  at  the  hands 
of  both  those  professing  to  be  Christians  and  those 
who  make  no  profession  of  religion  at  all,  have,  as 
a  result,  no  confidence  in  either.  Hot  knowing  how 
to  distinguish  one  from  the  other,  they  look  upon 
all  Gentiles  alike  with  suspicion.  Only  when  some 
Gentiles  prove  their  Christian  character  by  exhibit¬ 
ing  the  spirit  of  love  towards  their  neighbours,  and 
their  sincere  devotion  to  God,  will  Jews  know  how 


1G2  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


to  distinguish  Christians  from  those  who  are  still 
unconverted  Gentiles.  Neither  is  it  reasonable  to 
expect  others  to  believe  in  Christ  unless  we  demon¬ 
strate  to  them  that  the  Christian  life  is  superior  to 
the  A  own  form  of  living.  Christ  proved  His  doc¬ 
trine  by  the  manner  of  His  life.  He  practised 
what  He  preached.  His  life  testified  of  His  pro¬ 
fession,  it  was  of  that  character  that  He  could  face 
the  people  among  whom  He  lived  and  say  unto 
them,  “  Which  of  you  convinceth  me  of  sin  ?  ” 
Strange  as  it  may  appear,  while  “  salvation  is 
of  the  Jews,”  they  are  to-day  wholly  unacquainted 
with  the  true  meaning  of  salvation.  To  them,  it 
means  no  more  than  a  mere  change  of  opinion.  In¬ 
stead  of  attending  services  at  their  own  orthodox 
Synagogue,  and  following  the  teachings  of  their 
orthodox  rabbis,  they  may  if  they  will,  change 
their  mind  and  attend  instead  the  services  at  a  Re¬ 
formed  temple,  where  the  Reformed  rabbis  ignore 
the  “  Thus  saith  the  Lord  ”  of  the  Bible  entirely, 
and  from  their  pulpits  discourse  mainly  social  re¬ 
form,  modern  science,  ethical  culture  or  some  other 
new  thought  or  theory.  Such  of  the  Christian 
Churches  as  deny  the  sacrificial  atonement  of 
Christ  are  patronized  also  by  Reformed  J ews.  The 
atonement  of  Christ  is  the  offense;  this  being  re¬ 
moved,  in  these  churches  the  offense  ceases,  and 
Jew  and  Gentile  again  become  one.  It  was  on  this 
same  ground  Herod,  the  king  of  the  Jews,  and 
Pilate,  the  Roman  governor,  made  friends,  who 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


163 


formerly  were  at  enmity.  The  reason  Jews  ex¬ 
change  their  Synagogue  for  such  churches,  is  not, 
as  is  commonly  supposed  by  many,  that  they  have 
become  Christians.  Far  from  it,  but  rather  be¬ 
cause  the  members  of  these  churches  have  departed 
from  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  have  fallen 
to  the  level  of  the  unbelieving  Jews  substituting 
culture,  education  and  refinement  for  the  salvation 
of  God  which  comes  through  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  In  other  words,  they  try  to  save 
themselves  by  the  wisdom  of  men,  instead  of  being 
saved  through  faith  in  the  death  of  Christ.  The 
Apostle  Paul  declared  long  ago:  “  After  that  in 
the  wisdom  of  God  the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not 
God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preach¬ 
ing  to  save  them  that  believe.  For  the  Jews  re¬ 
quire  a  sign,  and  the  Gentiles  seek  after  wisdom 
[education].  But  we  preach  Christ  crucified,  unto 
the  Jews  a  stumblingblock,  and  unto  the  Gentiles 
foolishness;  but  unto  both  of  them  which  believe, 
Christ  the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God.” 

To  the  Jews  this  reformation  means  salva¬ 
tion.  We  know,  however,  that  exchanging  rabbin¬ 
ical  orthodoxy  for  modern  ideas,  does  by  no  means 
change  the  human  sinful  heart  from  a  state  of  de¬ 
pravity  and  death,  to  a  state  of  purity  and  life, 
as  is  implied  in  the  salvation  which  is  of  God,  in 
accordance  to  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  in  accordance  also  with  the  teachings  of  the 
Hew. 


164  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


While  the  opinion  of  the  mind  may  become  new 
through  education,  and  to  all  appearances,  a  man 
may  become  refined  and  polished  on  the  outside, 
yet  his  heart  remains  the  same  sinful  heart,  sin  is 
sure  to  break  out  in  some  form  or  other.  Neither 
can  a  permanent  change  in  the  heart  be  effected 
until  the  spirit  of  Christ  comes  in.  “  For  this 
purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested,  that  he 
might  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil.” 

Christ  destroys  inbred  sin  in  the  heart — the 
work  of  the  devil — and  creates  within  a  clean 
heart,  and  renews  within  a  right  spirit.  This  is 
salvation.  “  In  this  the  children  of  God  are  mani¬ 
fested,  and  the  children  of  the  devil.”  u  Whoso¬ 
ever  is  born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin.”  “  He 
that  committeth  sin  is  of  the  devil.”  This  the 
Jews  ought  to  be  made  acquainted  with. 

We  must  compel  them  to  see  by  our  consistent 
Christian  character  that  to-day  we,  who  are  Chris¬ 
tians  indeed,  and  not  they,  are  the  people  of  God. 
They  must  see  that  by  rejecting  Christ,  they  have 
forfeited  the  claims  to  the  privileges  their  fathers 
were  destined  to  enjoy. 

We  must  make  them  feel  that  every  one  of  them 
will  have  to  stand  before  the  Great  White  Throne, 
and  unless  their  sins  are  pardoned  here  through 
faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  mediator 
between  God  and  man,  they  will  certainly  be  pun¬ 
ished  with  all  other  unbelievers.  We  must  show 
them  that  God  is  full  of  compassion  for  them;  that 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


165 


He  had  given  His  Soil  to  die  for  them;  that  He  is 
quite  willing  to  forgive  and  blot  out  all  their  past, 
and  take  them  into  His  favour,  providing  they 
comply  with  the  condition  required  for  their  recon¬ 
ciliation  with  God,  when  they  have  realized  the  ex¬ 
perience  of  salvation,  then  will  they,  as  did  Simeon, 
testify  in  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem,  when  the  child 
Jesus  was  brought  in,  saying:  “  Now  lettest  thou 
thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  according  to  thy  word ; 
for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation.” 

When  coming  to  our  shores,  the  Jews’  misun¬ 
derstanding  arising  from  the  persecutions  of  false 
Christianity,  should  arouse  a  sense  of  responsibility 
in  our  hearts  to  set  them  right  as  to  the  real  re¬ 
ligion  of  Jesus  Christ.  To  them  this  country  is 
a  real  haven  of  rest,  a  ISTew  Jerusalem.  Indeed, 
many  call  it  their  Promised  Land.  Here,  they 
find  a  field  in  which  they  again  breathe  the  clear 
atmosphere  of  freedom  and  liberty.  Here  their 
long  pent-up  energies  again  relax  and1  expand ; 
their  peculiar  traits  of  character  unfold;  their  in¬ 
exhaustible  fountain  of  ingenuity,  thrift  and  en¬ 
terprise  open  up  like  flood-gates,  and  their  influ¬ 
ence  flows  out  abroad  in  the  land  and  is  felt  every¬ 
where  as  a  result;  our  cities  have  become  veritable 
beehives  of  enterprise,  energy  and  thrift. 

Greater  ISTew  York  is  now  the  largest  Jewish 
city  in  the  world.  It  contains  1,750,000  Hebrews. 
Every  fourth  person  is  a  Jew.  The  American 
J ew,  as  previously  stated,  is  not  following  the 


166  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


orthodoxy  of  his  fathers.  He  is  a  free-thinker. 
That  means,  he  has  no  religion  at  all.  Jews  are 
neglecting  the  light  they  have,  and  becoming  athe¬ 
ists  by  the  thousands;  they  are  also  being  impreg¬ 
nated  with  socialistic  ideas. 

Immorality  and  crime,  formerly  so  rare,  is 
spreading  among  them  like  a  plague.  This  is 
largely  the  result  of  the  fact  that  in  this  land  of 
liberty  all  restraint  of  Jewish  law  by  which  the 
Jews  were  protected  in  the  old  countries  in  their 
Ghettos,  has  been  removed  and  the  new  generation 
is  left  without  necessary  moral  and  spiritual  sup¬ 
port.  Is  it,  then,  not  clear  what  the  only  possible 
remedy  is,  and  what  our  Christian  duty  is  ? 
“  Salvation  ”  is  their  only  hope.  J esus  Christ  re¬ 
stores  the  soul  to  its  original  state  of  purity  and 
holiness,  and  empowers  poor,  weak  humanity 
against  the  mighty  influence  of  the  evil  there  is 
in  the  world.  This  experience  restores  the  Jew  to 
his  noble,  ancient  past,  and  makes  him  a  son  of 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, — an  Israelite,  indeed. 
The  Hebrews  finding  themselves  as  they  do  among 
the  Gentiles  in  an  embarrassing  position  to-day, 
stripped  of  all  their  former  independence  and  na¬ 
tional  glory,  feel  their  abasement  and  weakened 
condition  very  keenly.  Having,  for  centuries,  un¬ 
dergone  the  constant  strain  of  oppression  and 
humiliation  among  the  Gentile  nations,  has  natu¬ 
rally  made  them  timid  and  very  sensitive.  The 
least  trace  of  suspicion  manifested  in  one’s  attitude 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


167 


toward  them  will  drive  them  away.  To  get  near 
them  with  the  Gospel  is  like  getting  near  the  wild, 
hounded  deer  of  the  forest;  great  care  and  precau¬ 
tion  have  to  be  exercised. 

The  Lord  surely  made  no  mistake  when  He  com¬ 
manded  the  one  Gospel  to  be  preached  to  every 
creature.  But  it  rests  entirely  with  the  preacher 
to  adapt  himself  and  his  message  to  the  kind  of 
creature  to  whom  he  is  preaching. 

The  Apostle  Paul,  telling  the  Corinthians  of 
how  he  won  them  for  Christ,  says :  “  Being  crafty, 
I  caught  you  with  guile/’  Paul  evidently  was  a 
good  fisherman,  for  he  not  only  carried  with  him 
a  good  supply  of  bait,  but  a  great  variety  as  well. 
He  says :  “  I  am  made  all  things  to  all  men/’ 
“For  though  I  be  free  from  all  men,  yet  I  made 
myself  servant  unto  all,  that  I  might  gain  the  more, 
and  unto  the  Jews  I  become  as  a  Jew,  that  I  might 
gain  them  that  are  under  the  law;  to  them  that  are 
without  law,  as  without  law  (being  not  without  law 
to  God,  but  under  the  law  of  Christ),  that  I  might 
gain  them  that  are  without  law.  I  am  made  all 
things  to  all  men,  that  I  might  by  all  means  save 
some.” 

If  we  fish  for  Jews,  we  shall  catch  Jews — and 
they  are  not  at  all  a  bad  catch  either.  I  have 
heard  it  said:  “  Jews  only  hold  out  as  Christians, 
so  long  as  there  is  money  in  it.”  But  I  have 
proven  by  my  twenty  years’  experience,  as  a  fol¬ 
lower  of  Christ,  that  the  devil  is  still  a  liar.  When 


168  OUT  OF_  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


converted  to  true  Christianity,  Jews  hold  out  as 
Christians,  identically  the  same  as  do  converts  of 
any  other  race.  Their  perseverance,  you  must  re¬ 
member,  is  in  the  face  of  the  most  hitter  and  cruel 
persecutions, — first  of  their  own  people;  second,  at 
the  hands  of  unconverted  Gentiles.  Yet  in  spite  of 
this  hindrance  in  the  way  of  their  progress,  they 
remain  loyal,  faithful  Christians  to  the  end. 

The  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  are  evidence 
that  the  fidelity  of  the  Jews  can  be  relied  upon. 
At  any  rate,  God  wonderfully  trusted  them.  For 
we  read :  “  Surely  the  Lord  God  will  do  nothing, 
hut  he  revealeth  his  secret  unto  his  servants  and 
prophets.”  Again,  in  the  Yew  Testament,  we  see 
the  Lord  Jesus  wonderfully  trusted  Jews.  Unto 
them  He  revealeth  all  the  hidden  mysteries  of  God, 
kept  secret  from  the  creation  of  the  world.  From 
among  all  the  great  and  wise  nations  of  the  earth 
in  His  day,  the  Lord  chose  Jews  as  His  apostles. 
Them  He  made  the  foundation  stones  of  the 
Church.  Them  He  entrusted  with  the  tremendous 
responsibility  of  spreading  His  salvation  among  the 
Gentiles.  Judging  by  the  results  seen  among  the 
Jews  in  the  world,  to-day,  the  early  Jewish  con¬ 
verts  to  Christianity  must  have  been  very  faithful 
to  their  charge  and  liberal  in  the  extreme,  for  they 
seem  to  have  given  all  the  spiritual  light  and  life 
they  possessed  to  the  Gentiles  and  have  left  nothing 
in  reserve  for  the  Jews. 

“  For  His  name’s  sake  they  went  forth  preach- 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


169 


ing  the  gospel,  taking  nothing  of  the  Gentiles.” 
“  But  as  we  were  allowed  of  God  to  he  put  in  trust 
with  the  gospel,  even  so  we  speak;  not  as  pleasing 
men,  but  God  which  trieth  out  hearts.  We  were 
gentle  among  you,  even  as  a  nurse  cherisheth  her 
children.  So  being  affectionately  desirous  of  you, 
we  were  willing  to  have  imparted  unto  you  not  the 
gospel  of  God  only,  but  also  our  own  souls,  because 
ye  were  dear  unto  us.” 

Why  so  Neglected? 

Is  it  not  more  than  strange  that  the  people  who 
so  faithfully  preached  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles 
in  the  past  should  so  sadly  be  neglected  by  them  in 
the  present?  This  people,  who  at  the  sacrifice  of 
their  own  lives  rolled  the  stone  from  the  well’s 
mouth  to  open  the  channel  for  the  waters  of  life 
to  flow  out  unto  all  men,  for  the  salvation  of  all 
nations,  are,  to-day,  sitting  at  this  very  fountain 
thirsty,  with  few  or  none  to  help  them. 

The  well  is  deep  and  they  have  nothing  where¬ 
with  to  draw  up  the  life-giving  draught. 

Many  conflicting  doctrines  are  promulgated 
to-day  concerning  the  Jews.  In  some  of  these 
theories  it  is  claimed  that  the  time  for  the  salva¬ 
tion  of  the  Jews  has  not  come.  We  are  told  that 
this  is  the  time  of  the  Gentiles,  and  that  when  this 
dispensation  closes,  the  Lord  will  come,  and  will 
first  reveal  Himself  to  the  Jews  of  Palestine  and 
at  this  epoch  all  Jews  will  be  saved  as  a  nation. 


170  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


This  idea  they  try  to  support  with  Scripture — 
especially  this  one :  “  They  shall  look  on  me  whom 
they  have  pierced/7  Yet  John  declares  this  Scrip¬ 
ture  was  fulfilled  when  the  Homan  soldier  pierced 
the  side  of  Jesus.  John  19:34-37.  The  news 
that  many  of  the  persecuted  Jews  are  actually  re¬ 
turning  to  Palestine,  is  by  them  interpreted  as  con¬ 
firming  their  own  theory.  They  add  also  the  Zion¬ 
ist  movement.  This  project  being  Jewish,  seems 
altogether  to  be  the  climax  of  their  expectation. 

Thus,  if  these  theories  were  true  that  Christ  will 
save  all  J ews  in  Palestine  as  a  nation,  there  would 
be  no  need  of  doing  anything  for  them  now,  nor 
would  there  be  anything  left  for  Christians  to  do. 
This  doctrine  that  Christ  is  to  reveal  Himself  to 
the  Jews  in  Palestine,  is  not  new,  but  is  the  same 
the  rabbis  preached  to  the  Jews  in  the  time  of 
Christ,  which  at  that  time,  was  a  means  of  blind¬ 
ing  their  eyes  to  the  truths  of  the  Scriptures.  Con¬ 
sequently  they  failed  to  recognize  in  the  humble 
Hazarene  their  own  Messiah.  They  had  been  led 
to  look  for  the  coming  of  their  Messiah  in  pomp 
and  splendour,  with  great  power  and  glory,  and 
set  up  again  their  kingdom  in  Palestine,  inde¬ 
pendent  of  the  Homans,  with  Himself  on  the 
Throne.  As  such,  they  were  willing  to  accept 
Him. 

Because  of  this,  many  of  the  Jews,  which  be¬ 
lieved  in  Jesus,  were  anxious  to  make  Him  King. 
“  When  Jesus,  therefore,  perceived  that  they  would 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


171 


come  and  take  him  by  force  to  make  him  a  King, 
he  departed  again  into  a  mountain  by  himself, 
alone.7’  John  6:15.  Jesus  proved  to  he  a  great 
disappointment  to  them  by  Ilis  preaching  the 
Kingdom  of  God  and  not  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Jews.  He  discouraged  their  Jewish  prospects  of 
being  saved  as  a  nation  entirely. 

It  does  seem  strange  that  this  old  doctrine,  which 
Christ  in  His  day  condemned,  should  be  preached 
in  this  day.  Ko  wonder  the  Jews  are  confused  as 
to  the  right  standard  of  Christianity.  The  wolf, 
finding  the  shepherd  sleeping,  carries  off  these 
Christless  souls,  as  trophies  of  his  victories.  Yet, 
while  these  theories  are  making  their  round,  the 
Lord  is  graciously  saving  Jews  through  every 
means  available,  while  the  Church  is  wondering 
where  all  these  converted  Jews  come  from.  Like¬ 
wise  God,  in  the  beginning  of  Christianity,  sur¬ 
prised  the  first  Jewish  Christians  by  converting 
some  of  the  Gentiles.  The  Jews,  then,  did  not  be¬ 
lieve  that  it  was  the  time  for  the  Gentiles  to  be 
saved.  For  this  reason  the  Christian  Jews  of  Jeru¬ 
salem  threatened  to  kill  Paul,  because  they  heard 
that  he  had  preached  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles  and 
had  brought  a  Gentile  into  the  temple.  The  con¬ 
version  of  Jews  began  to  take  on  new  life,  perhaps 
fifty  years  ago,  and  since  then  has  been  growing 
until  now  converted  Jews  number  thousands,  and 
are  to  be  found  in  all  lands. 

Thank  God,  there  are  those  in  the  Church  to-day 


172  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


who  not  only  pray  earnestly  for  the  immediate 
salvation  of  the  Jews,  but  also  employ  every  means 
to  bring  Jews  to  Christ.  May  God  abundantly 
bless  and  sustain  them  in  their  faithful  labour  of 
love,  and  may  the  Lord  speedily  increase  their 
number.  “  For  the  harvest  truly  is  great,  but  the 
labourers  are  few  .” 

Many  professors  of  Christianity  do  still  insist 
that  J ews  are  a  separate  people,  though  “  All  have 
sinned  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God.”  They 
comfort  themselves  with  the  thought  that  in  the 
end  all  Jews  will  be  saved  in  Jerusalem.  But 
Christ  is  the  J Resurrection  and  the  Life,  and  His 
doctrine  is  very  plain.  “No  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father,  but  by  me.”  The  Lord  commanded  His 
Disciples  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature, 
and  there  is  no  record  that  Jews  are  to  be  saved  in 
any  other  manner  than  that  provided  for  all. 

At  His  coming  we  are  told :  “  He  shall  send  his 
angels  with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they 
shall  gather  his  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from 
one  end  of  heaven  to  the  other.”  Matt.  24:31. 
Having  gathered  these,  the  door  shall  be  shut, 
and  great  tribulation  shall  come  upon  the  earth, 
to  punish  all  them  who  have  either  neglected  or 
rejected  God’s  offered  mercy  of  salvation,  while 
the  door  was  open.  This  destruction  shall  come 
upon  all  alike,  Jews  as  well  as  Gentiles. 

However,  despite  the  indifference  manifested  on 
the  part  of  many  toward  the  salvation  of  the  Jews, 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


173 


and  the  strong  aversion  of  the  Jews  against  Chris¬ 
tianity,  a  “  remnant  ”  of  them  shall  be  saved. 
Paul  believed  the  word  of  God  in  the  face  of  the 
Jewish  unbelief.  He  believed  through  the  preach¬ 
ing  of  the  Gospel,  the  “  remnant  ”  would  return 
according  to  the  election  of  grace.  Because  of  this, 
he  did  all  he  could  to  pave  the  way  for  their  com- 
ing,  by  breaking  down  the  prejudices  in  the  minds 
of  his  Gentile  converts.  Paul  realized  that  the 
Gentile  people  did  not  have  the  same  advantage  of 
knowing  the  Scriptures,  as  had  the  Jews,  and  he 
took  special  care  to  enlighten  them,  proving  to 
them  by  the  Scripture  that  Christ  had  become  our 
peace.  He  also  proved  to  them  how  through  the 
atonement,  God’s  love  is  extended  impartially 
toward  all  people  alike,  saying :  “  As  concerning 
the  gospel,  they  (the  Jews)  are  enemies  for  your 
sake ;  but  as  touching  the  election,  they  are  beloved 
for  the  father’s  sake.”  Rom.  11:  28.  “  For  as  ye 
(Gentiles)  in  times  past  have  not  believed  God,  yet 
have  now  obtained  mercy  through  their  (the  Jews) 
unbelief;  even  so  have  these  (the  Jews)  also  now 
not  believed,  that  through  your  mercy  they  also 
may  obtain  mercy.  For  God  hath  concluded  them 
all  (Jews  as  well  as  Gentiles)  in  unbelief  that  he 
might  have  mercy  upon  all  ”  Rom.  11 :30,  31-32. 

He  further  instructed  them,  how  through  the 
death  of  Christ  the  Gentiles  had  become  adopted, 
into  the  family  of  the  Israel  (of  God),  hoping 
thereby  to  safeguard  them  in  the  future  against 


174  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


any  spirit  of  boastfulness  or  pride  against  their 
Jewish  brethren.  u  How,  therefore,  ye  are  no  more 
strangers  and  foreigners,  but  fellow  citizens  with 
the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God.”  Eph. 
2: 11,  12,  19. 

With  these  words  the  apostle  closes  his  lengthy 
argument  in  which  he  shows  that  Israel,  under  the 
dispensation  of  grace,  is  not  the  same  Israel  that 
was  formerly  under  the  old  dispensation,  but  that 
the  “  All  Israel  ”  spoken  of  now  embraces  all  peo¬ 
ple  of  every  nation  under  heaven  who  have  come 
to  God  through  repentance  and  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ.  Thus,  the  apostles’  wise  climax  was, 
“  And  so,”  through  these  means,  a  all  Israel  shall 
be  saved.”  Horn.  11 :  28. 

We  can  see  God  never  intended  that  His  act  of 
grace  extended  to  the  Gentiles,  should  have  become 
a  means  of  shutting  the  door  against  the  Jews,  as 
would  appear  from  the  teachings  we  receive  to-day 
from  some  Christian  teachers. 

God  throughout  the  Old  Testament  continually 
pleads  with  His  people  to  be  reconciled  to  Him, 
saying:  “  Return,  0  back-sliding  children,  for  I 
am  married  unto  you,  only  acknowledge  thine 
iniquity ,  that  thou  hast  transgressed  against  the 
Lord  thy  God.”  Jer.  3:13-14.  The  only  thing 
which  separates  Jews  from  God  is  sin,  the  same 
that  separates  all  others  from  God.  “  Your  iniq¬ 
uities  have  separated  between  you  and  your  God, 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


175 


and  jour  sins  have  hid  his  face  from  you,  that  he 
will  not  hear.” 

To  the  Church  God  has  entrusted  this  special  min¬ 
istry  of  reconciliation,  “  To  wit:  that  God  was  in 
Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself 9  not  im¬ 
puting  their  trespasses  unto  them.”  II  Cor.  5:18, 
19.  If  all  others  in  the  world  are  included  in  this 
favour,  then  surely  the  Jews  must  be,  first,  because 
of  the  sacred  marriage  relation  existing  between 
them  and  God;  secondly,  because  out  of  this  sacred 
relation  sprang  our  precious  Redeemer,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

The  Virgin  Mary,  who  of  the  Holy  Ghost  con¬ 
ceived  and  brought  forth  the  child  Jesus,  was  of 
God  chosen  of  the  House  of  Israel.  The  Angel 
Gabriel  was  sent  from  God  unto  a  city  of  Galilee, 
named  Hazareth,  to  a  virgin  espoused  to  a  man 
whose  name  was  Joseph,  of  the  house  of  David, 
and  the  virgin’s  name  was  Mary.  The  Angel  came 
unto  her,  and  said :  “  Hail  thou  that  art  highly 
favoured,  the  Lord  is  with  thee;  blessed  art  thou 
among  women;  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon 
thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow 
thee ;  therefore  also  that  Holy  Thing  which  shall  be 
born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God 
Luke  1:26-35.  At  this  Jewish  bosom  was  this 
child  nourished,  the  milk  which  supplied  the  body 
of  the  world’s  Redeemer  with  its  blood,  was  drawn 
from  a  Jewish  breast.  Yes,  Jewish  hands  rocked 
the  cradle  of  the  Author  and  Giver  of  our  eternal 


176  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


life,  and  the  blood  shed  for  the  remission  of  the 
sins  of  the  world  was  Jewish.  Here  was  the 
foundation  laid  of  our  present  and  our  eternal  hap¬ 
piness  and  glory,  and  upon  this  foundation  is  built 
the  entire  House  of  God.  Will  God  forget  this? 
He  says,  no.  “  Behold,  I  have  graven  thee  upon 
the  palms  of  my  hands.”  Ought  not  we,  who 
through  faith  in  the  Blood  of  Christ  attained  eter¬ 
nal  life,  ever  to  remember  this? 

While  we  are  drinking  of  the  well  of  life,  ought 
we  not  to  have  compassion  upon  them  who  opened 
this  well  for  us?  The  Church  is  God’s  only  com¬ 
missioned  agency  through  whom  the  message  of 
salvation  is  to  be  proclaimed. 

If  Jews  are  to  be  converted  at  all,  they  must 
become  converted  through  the  Church  preaching 
the  Gospel  unto  them,  as  it  is  being  preached  to  all 
others.  My  contention  is  that  it  is  our  duty  to 
lead  the  Jews  to  Christ  and  not  to  Palestine. 
What  will  the  Church  do  with  this  responsibility  ? 
What  excuse  has  the  Church  to  offer  for  neglecting 
it?  I  pray  the  Church  may  truly  discern  the 
signs  of  the  time,  and  realize  that  the  day  is  far 
spent,  and  that  the  night  is  coming.  The  morning 
will  soon  break  forth  and  all  shadows  flee  away. 

“  My  beloved  spoke,  and  said  unto  me,  Eise  up, 
my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come  away.  For  lo,  the 
winter  is  past,  the  rain  is  over  and  gone;  the  flow¬ 
ers  appear  upon  the  earth,  the  time  of  the  singing 
of  the  birds  is  come,  and  the  voice  of  the  turtle  is 


APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH 


177 


heard  in  our  land.  The  fig  tree  putteth  forth  her 
green  figs,  and  the  vines  with  their  tender  grapes 
give  a  good  smell.  Arise,  my  love,  my  fair  one, 
and  come  away.”  Solomon’s  Song  2 : 10,  13. 


XVII 


AN  APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


TO  MY  Brethren  and  Kinsmen  in  the  Flesh: 

I  fully  realize  with  you  that  we  are 
living  to-day  in  an  age  essentially  of  in¬ 
quiry,  and  every  man  must  think  for  himself,  un¬ 
trammeled  by  any  traditions  of  the  past,  in  order 
to  keep  pace  with  the  present  rapid  advance  in 
intellectual  development  or  else  be  left  behind  in 
the  race. 

You  have  evidently  recognized  the  need  of  this 
in  your  own  experience,  and  for  this  reason  have 
already  departed  from  the  somewhat  antiquated 
forms  of  Judaism,  and  have  adopted  instead  the 
more  prevalent  and  liberal  forms,  in  harmony  with 
the  spirit  of  the  times. 

However,  in  going  over  the  record  of  our  fore¬ 
fathers,  whose  past  experiences  we  cannot  alto¬ 
gether  ignore,  for,  to  us,  this  must  ever  remain  a 
guide  to  govern  our  future,  we  find  that  it  is  not 
sufficient  to  simply  throw  off  the  empty  forms  of 
Judaism,  unless  we  are  prepared  to  practice  with 
additional  zeal  those  fundamental  principles  which 
are  the  basis  of  our  Hebrew  religion,  namely, 
“  Judgment,  Mercy  and  Faith.” 

Our  forefathers  in  the  past  experimented  with 

178 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


179 


this  matter  of  departing  from  their  orthodox  forms 
in  exchange  for  those  of  their  heathen  neighbours 
again  and  again;  as  a  result,  they  were  always  de¬ 
feated,  made  shipwreck  of  their  faith,  and  brought 
misery  and  disaster  upon  themselves  in  the  end. 

If  we  take  a  retrospective  view  of  Jonah’s  ex¬ 
perience  whilst  sailing  to  Tarshish,  we  shall  note 
that  everything  on  the  ship  had  been  thrown  over¬ 
board  in  the  attempt  to  calm  the  troubled  sea;  yet 
all  those  efforts  failed  to  restore  rest  to  the  sea  or 
peace  to  Jonah.  Not  until  the  Hebrew  himself 
was  thrown  over,  did  the  sea  cease  raging,  the  ship 
right  herself  and  made  for  port. 

Jonah’s  experience  is  but  an  allegory  of  the  Jew¬ 
ish  nation.  We,  like  Jonah,  are  sailing  through 
troubled  seas.  Simply  throwing  off  the  empty 
forms  of  Judaism  can  by  no  means  bring  peace  to 
us  nor  will  this  in  itself  ever  calm  the  troubled 
nations  through  whom  we  are  sailing  in  our  course 
of  life,  while,  like  Jonah  of  old,  we  are  journeying 
in  a  course  out  of  harmony  with  the  will  of  God. 

Having  reached  the  place  in  your  journey  where 
many  roads  meet,  and  realizing  you  must  decide 
for  yourself  as  to  which,  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  the 
right  one,  why  not  stop  and  read  as  indicated  in 
the  Word  of  God? 

“  Stand  ye  in  the  ways,  and  see,  and  ask  for  the 
old  paths,  where  is  the  good  way,  and  walk  therein, 
and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your  souls.”  Jeremiah 
6:  16. 


180  OUT  OF,  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


Instead  of  forsaking  your  own  Jewish  forms  of 
religion  and  conforming  your  life  to  that  of  the 
irreligious  multitudes  about  you,  thus  becoming 
Gentilized,  neither  Jews  nor  Christians,  why  not 
at  once  throw  the  Jew  himself  overboard,  accept 
Christ,  your  own  Messiah,  and  King,  and  become 
real  Christians? 

The  Scripture  declares :  “  This  man  shall  he  the 
peace.”  Micah  5:5.  We  have  also  this  promise: 
“  When  a  man’s  ways  please  the  Lord,  he  maketh 
even  his  enemies  to  he  at  peace  with  him.”  This 
has  been  so  truly  verified  in  my  own  Christian  ex¬ 
perience,  and  you  will  find  this  to  he  the  testimony 
of  every  real  Hebrew  Christian.  Since  I  have  ac¬ 
cepted  Christ  as  my  personal  Saviour,  I  am  at 
peace  with  God  and  with  all  nations. 

The  Christian  life  is  a  beautiful  life ;  it  is  a  life 
of  peace  and  rest;  a  life  from  sin  set  free,  and 
therefore  a  happy  life.  It  is  that  manner  of  life 
of  which  the  prophet  speaks  when  he  says :  “  The 
work  of  righteousness  shall  he  peace,  and  the  effect 
of  righteousness,  quietness  and  assurance  for¬ 
ever.”  When  once  the  evidence  is  received  in  the 
heart  through  the  Holy  Spirit  of  being  pardoned, 
that  all  our  sins  are  forgiven  us,  that  we  are  recon¬ 
ciled  to  God,  it  brings  with  it  a  solace  and  a  con¬ 
solation  which  is  truly  wonderful;  it  is  a  joy  un¬ 
speakable  and  full  of  glory. 

I  find  absolutely  nothing  in  the  Christian  life 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


181 


to  which,  any  of  onr  Jewish  brethren  could  possibly 
object.  Hay,  rather,  this  is  the  life  to  which  every 
man  and  woman  that  is  a  Hebrew  should  aspire, 
since  it  is  that  manner  of  life  which  God  in  the 
law  of  Moses  requires  every  man  to  live.  Through 
the  law  God  reveals  the  fact  to  us  that  we  should 
he  pure  and  holy.  “  Be  ye  holy,  for  I,  the  Lord 
your  God,  am  holy.” 

It  is  through  the  law  we  discover  our  weakness  ; 
for  when  we  come  to  comply  with  the  demands  of 
the  law,  we  discover,  to  our  sorrow,  that  there  is 
another  law  working  in  us,  a  law  which  is  stronger 
than  we;  that  is,  the  law  of  sin.  This  law  is  war¬ 
ring  against  the  law  of  God,  and  is  conquering  us ; 
keeping  us  like  slaves  in  subjection  to  sin.  Thus, 
in  our  own  strength,  we  never  could  comply  with 
the  demands  of  the  law;  for  when  we  would  do 
good,  the  evil  which  is  in  us  hinders  us  from  car¬ 
rying  out  our  good  intentions. 

This  surely  has  been  amply  demonstrated  to  us 
Jews  again  and  again  on  every  “  Yom  Kippur  ” 
(Day  of  Atonement).  When,  after  we  had  fasted 
and  prayed  with  hitter  tears  of  remorse  on  account 
of  our  sins,  year  by  year  we  found  to  our  great 
sorrow  and  disappointment  when  the  Day  of  Atone¬ 
ment  was  over  and  the  stars  again  appeared  on  the 
horizon,  that  our  sins  likewise  appeared,  awaiting 
only  another  Day  of  Atonement,  with  but  alas !  the 
same  result. 

God,  however,  foresaw  this  gap  in  our  nature, 


182  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


and  He  made  provision  for  onr  soul’s  escape  out 
of  this  bondage  of  sin,  as  formerly  He  made  a  way 
through  the  Red  Sea,  to  bring  our  forefathers  out 
of  the  bondage  of  the  Egyptians.  Therefore,  what 
we  were  unable  to  do  for  ourselves  on  account  of 
our  weakness  in  the  flesh,  and  what  the  law  was 
powerless  to  do  on  account  of  the  strength  of  the 
law  of  sin  in  the  flesh,  God  sending  His  own  Son 
in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin,  con¬ 
demned  and  executed  sin  in  the  flesh  by  the  sacri¬ 
fice  of  Himself  on  the  Cross,  “  that  by  the  grace 
of  God  he  should  taste  death  for  every  man  ”  so 
that  in  His  flesh  was  summed  up  the  sin  of  all 
human  flesh.  The  flesh  being  dead,  the  law  of 
sin  has  lost  its  power.  u  Likewise,”  the  Apostle 
says,  “  reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed 
unto  sin.”  “  Let  not  sin  reign  in  your  mortal 
bodies  that  ye  should  obey  it  in  the  lust  thereof.” 
Romans  6:  11-12.  In  evidence  of  His  victory  over 
the  law  of  sin,  Christ  arose  from  the  dead  the  third 
day,  and  bodily  ascended  on  high  in  the  presence 
of  many  witnesses,  where  he  entered  in  behind  the 
veil  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  to  appear  before  God 
as  our  High  Priest  forever. 

“  Wherefore  he  is  able  also  to  save  them  to  the 
uttermost  that  come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he 
ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them.”  Heb. 
7 :  25.  How,  if  we  confess  our  sins  unto  God  in 
His  Name,  we  find  “  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  for¬ 
give  us  our  sins;  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  un- 


Appeal  to  Israel 


183 


righteousness.”  In  evidence  of  this  kind  of  “  Yom 
Kippur  ”  such  a  Day  of  Atonement,  we  now  re¬ 
ceive  the  Holy  Ghost  as  a  witness,  an  evidence  by 
which  we  know  that  His  promise  unto  ns  has  been 
fulfilled.  “  They  shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least 
of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the  Lord ; 
for  I  will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will  remem¬ 
ber  their  sins  no  more A  Jeremiah  31:  34. 

Through  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  now  also  receive 
power  henceforth  to  overcome  our  enemy,  the  law 
of  sin .  Hallelujah  !  This  power  our  fathers  lacked 
under  the  law.  How,  with  the  aid  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  us,  we  are  enabled  to  keep  the  law  and 
serve  Him  without  fear,  in  holiness  and  righteous¬ 
ness  all  the  days  of  our  life.  Luke  74:  75. 

Finally,  having  overcome  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
the  devil  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  the  word 
of  our  testimony,  we,  in  the  spirit,  likewise  also 
ascend  on  high  into  heaven  itself  where  Christ,  the 
forerunner  and  High  Priest,  has  for  us  entered. 
This  is  Christianity;  and  this  is  the  rest,  the  Sab¬ 
bath  of  which  the  Seventh  Day  in  the  Law  is  the 
pattern. 

Surely,  no  pious  Jew,  no  real  Jew,  could  pos¬ 
sibly  object  to  such  an  experience,  since  the  attain¬ 
ing  to  this  “  Scholum  ” — this  heavenly  rest,  has 
been  the  constant  hope  and  prayer  of  our  people 
ever  since  they  became  a  nation.  This  experience 
also  is  the  refreshing  God  had  promised  our  fathers 
should  receive,  if  they  would  comply  with  His  will 


184  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


to  keep  His  cominandments.  “  To  whom  he  said; 
this  is  the  rest  wherewith  ye  may  cause  the  weary 
to  rest;  and  this  is  the  refreshing;  yet  they  would 
not  hear.”  Isaiah  28:12.  And  because  they  re¬ 
fused  to  comply  with  the  will  of  God  and  finally 
also  rejected  their  Messiah,  Israel  as  a  nation  of 
their  own  will  forfeited  all  claim  to  all  the  precious 
promises  of  God  and  disinherited  themselves. 
“  As  many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power 
to  become  the  Sons  of  God.”  The  rest,  being 
blinded,  fell  from  their  estate  to  the  level  of  all 
unbelieving  souls,  and  there,  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
they  remain  unto  this  day. 

For  a  Jew  to  become  reinstated  to  the  family 
of  God  and  become  an  Israelite  indeed,  he  needs 
the  same  kind  of  Day  of  Atonement  as  do  all 
others.  A  time  when  he  really  and  truly  repents 
of  his  sins  and  believes  in  the  “  Atonement  of 
Christ  ”  as  his  substitute.  This  act  reconciles  him 
to  the  favour  of  God  and  he  enters  into  rest.  Hav¬ 
ing  had  this  kind  of  Atonement,  “  we  receive  the 
end  of  our  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  our  soul.” 
I  Peter  1 : 19. 

When  our  allotted  time  on  earth  is  expired,  we 
enter  into  the  “  Hiding  Place  ”  Christ  has  gone  to 
prepare  for  us,  there  we  await  the  time  when  all 
the  Israel  of  God  shall  have  been  safely  gathered 
and  sheltered,  and  God  shall  have  taken  vengeance 
upon  all  those  in  the  earth  who  spumed  His  love 
and  mercy,  in  rejecting  Christ.  Then  shall  Christ, 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


185 


our  Leader  and  Guide,  bring  us  forth  from  our 
hiding  place  and  lead  us  safely  into  our  God- 
appointed  destination — the  promised  land. 

In  like  manner  did  God  bring  forth  Noah  with 
all  who  were  with  him  in  the  Ark?  after  He  had 
brought  the  flood  upon  the  ungodly.  “  And  God 
spake  unto  Noah,  saying,  Go  forth  of  the  Ark, 
thou  and  thy  wife  and  thy  sons  and  thy  sons’ 
wives  with  thee.”  This  also  is  in  accordance  with 
His  word,  “  Come  my  people,  enter  thou  into  thy 
chambers,  and  shut  thy  doors  about  thee;  hide 
thyself  as  it  were  for  a  little  moment,  until  the 
indignation  be  overpast.  For  behold,  the  Lord 
cometh  out  of  his  place  to  punish  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth  for  their  iniquity;  the  earth  also  shall 
disclose  her  blood  and  shall  no  more  cover  her 
slain.”  Isa.  26 :  2021. 

The  Promised  Land 

Therefore,  let  us  not  be  alarmed  nor  stagger  at 
the  promise  of  God  through  unbelief,  as  did  our 
fathers  in  the  past,  questioning  the  wisdom  and 
the  power  of  God  as  to  whether  He  shall  ever  bring 
us  into  possession  of  our  land  because  the  time  is 
long,  or  because  of  the  people  who  are  in  possession 
of  it  now. 

Neither  let  us  be  confounded  because  of  the 
bloody  World  War  through  which  we  have  passed 
as  though  it  could  change  the  promise  of  God,  nor 
let  us  be  driven  from  our  hope  by  seeing  the  Turks 


186  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


driven  out  and  the  Allies  in  turn  coming;  neither 
confuse  “  Zionism  ”  with  God’s  promises,  for  the 
Lord  says :  “  I  will  have  mercy  upon  the  house  of 
Judah  and  will  save  them  by  the  Lord  their  God, 
and  will  not  save  them  by  bow  nor  by  the  sword, 
nor  by  battle,  nor  by  horsemen.”  Hosea  1 :  7. 

Not  through  any  wars,  nor  through  influences  of 
kindly  statesmen,  nor  through  the  kindness  of  any 
nation,  or  the  nations  combined,  will  the  people  of 
God  come  into  possession  of  their  divinely  prom¬ 
ised  land,  but  through  faith  in  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ  only. 

“  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh  ” 
(evidently  at  the  foolishness  of  mankind,  attempt¬ 
ing  to  realize  by  means  of  human  power  what  God 
intended  should  be  acquired  spiritually),  “  the 
Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision.  Then  shall  he 
speak  unto  them  in  his  wrath  and  vex  them  in  his 
sore  displeasure.  Yet  have  I  set  my  king  upon  my 
holy  hill  of  Zion,  I  will  declare  the  decree;  the 
Lord  hath  said  unto  me,  Thou  art  my  son; — thou 
shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron;  thou  shalt 
dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter’s  vessel.”  Psalm 
2 : 4-9. 

Neither  let  us  be  perplexed  by  any  geographical 
or  other  changes,  this  or  any  other  war  is  likely  to 
make  in  the  land  of  promise,  or  changes  that  may 
be  made  through  other  great  national,  social  or 
economic  upheavals;  they  will  all  surely  come,  but 
none  of  these  disturbances,  however  great  and  im- 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


187 


portant  they  may  be,  will  in  anywise  disturb  tbe 
purposes  of  God.  “  Tbe  foundation  of  God  stand- 
etb  sure.”  These  changes  are  all  but  parts  of  His 
great  plan;  shifting  scenes  in  the  great  world 
drama,  until  the  final  act  upon  the  stage  of  time 
has  passed,  and  the  curtain  has  been  rung  down 
for  the  last  time.  We  have  been  foretold  by  the 
Lord  as  to  what  we  are  to  expect  in  the  world  in 
the  latter  days,  and  we  ought  not  in  the  least  to  be 
surprised  when  we  see  these  changes  coming  into 
fulfillment. 

“  Nation  shall  rise  up  against  nation,  and  king¬ 
dom  against  kingdom,  and  great  earthquakes  shall 
be  in  divers  places,  and  famines  and  pestilences 
and  fearful  sights,  and  great  signs  shall  there  be 
from  heaven  ” — “  and  upon  the  earth  distress  of 
nations,  with  perplexity, — men’s  hearts  failing 
them  for  fear,  and  for  looking  after  those  things 
which  are  coming  on  the  earth — and  when  we  see 
these  things  begin  to  come  to  pass,”  we  are  told 
to  “  look  up,  and  lift  up  your  heads  for  your  re¬ 
demption  draweth  nigh.”  Luke  21.  Wars  were 
to  be  the  beginning  of  sorrows,  the  prelude  to  the 
still  greater  tribulations  which  are  to  follow  before 
the  Lord  comes.  The  world,  we  are  told,  would  be 
perplexed  by  these  eruptions  coming  upon  the 
earth,  but  unto  us,  who  are  saved  and  believe  the 
words  of  the  Lord,  these  changing  conditions  were 
to  be  the  signal  that  the  coming  of  the  Lord  draw¬ 
eth  nigh,  and  that  therefore  we  ought  to  be  pre- 


188  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


pared  and  ready,  for  our  redemption  draweth  nigh 
as  well.  We  are  told  to  look  up,  when  we  see  these 
signs.  Wherefore,  let  us  not  worry  about  the  peo¬ 
ple  in  possession  of  our  land,  either  past,  present 
or  those  who  may  yet  take  possession  of  the  land 
at  any  future  time.  Be  they  Turks,  Mohamme¬ 
dans,  Arabs,  English,  Russians,  Jews,  or  whoever 
they  may  be  who  come  into  possession  of  the  land, 
they  are  all  but  our  servants,  coming  into  the  land 
to  work  for  our  interests.  They  are  preparing  the 
land  for  our  habitation,  while  at  the  same  time, 
God,  through  His  servants  the  Christian  people  in 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  is  preparing  a  people 
for  the  land.  If  God,  in  His  love  and  mercy,  is 
exercising  such  wonderful  patience  and  long-suf¬ 
fering  toward  poor  humanity  that  they  might  be 
saved,  surely  we  ought  to  he  patient  with  God  dur¬ 
ing  His  time  of  maturing  His  purposes  and  until 
the  fullness  of  His  time  has  come.  Deliverance  is 
sure  to  come  in  the  end.  For  the  Lord  says: 
“  Shall  I  bring  to  the  birth,  and  not  cause  to  bring 
forth  ?  saith  the  Lord :  shall  I  cause  to  bring  forth, 
and  shut  the  womb?  saith  thy  God.”  Isaiah  66:  9. 

The  people  in  possession  of  our  land  are  not 
idle  during  this  time  of  waiting,  they  are  making 
wonderful  progress  in  developing  and  improving 
the  land.  They  are  building  railroads,  digging 
canals,  establishing  irrigation,  fertilizing  and  en¬ 
riching  the  soil,  cultivating  and  preparing  the 
ground,  planting  vineyards  and  orchards;  building 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


m 


schools  and  colleges;  they  are  making  the  desert  to 
blossom  as  the  rose,  and  are  causing  the  streams 
to  flow  in  the  wilderness. 

The  following  clipping  will  show  with  what  won¬ 
derful  rapidity  the  promised  land  is  being  pre¬ 
pared.  The  matter  seems  to  be  very  urgent : 

(Official  Report  of  Palestine  Development  Council, 
New  York;  Julian  W.  Mack,  Chairman.) 

A  corporation  with  a  capital  of  $5,000,000  to 
finance  the  project  of  Pinhas  Rutenberg,  the  well- 
known  Russian  engineer,  to  harness  the  water-falls 
of  the  Jordan  River  for  the  purpose  of  generating 
and  distributing  electric  light  and  power  in  Pales¬ 
tine,  is  to  be  organized  in  England.  The  Palestine 
Development  Council,  of  which  United  States  Su¬ 
preme  Court  Justice  Brandeis  is  honorary  chair¬ 
man  and  Judge  Julian  W.  Mack  chairman,  is  tak¬ 
ing  immediate  steps  to  aid  in  the  financing  of  this 
great  undertaking. 

This  project,  based  on  concessions  to  Mr.  Ruten¬ 
berg  by  the  British  Government,  the  mandatory 
power  in  Palestine,  for  the  utilization  of  the 
waters  of  the  Auja,  the  Jordan  and  the  Yarmuk 
rivers  and  their  affluents,  even  outside  the  present 
boundaries  of  Palestine,  has  been  described  in  the 
British  House  of  Lords  by  the  Government  spokes¬ 
man,  the  Duke  of  Sutherland,  as  the  most  prac¬ 
tical,  substantial  contribution  so  far  made  by  Juda¬ 
ism  to  the  restoration  of  prosperity  in  Palestine. 

The  concession,  which  includes  Trans- Jordania 
as  well  as  Palestine  as  at  present  constituted,  cov¬ 
ers  a  period  of  seventy  years,  includes  the  exclu¬ 
sive  right  to  build  the  generating  stations,  trans- 


190  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


mission  and  distribution  lines,  electric  tramways, 
railroads,  telegraph  and  telephone  systems.  Under 
the  terms  of  the  concession  no  other  electrical  in¬ 
stallments  will  be  permitted  and  no  similar  con¬ 
cessions  granted  in  Palestine  during  that  time. 

The  first  undertaking  of  the  corporation  will  be 
to  build  dams  and  generating  stations  to  utilize  the 
falls  of  the  Jordan  between  Lake  Tiberias  and 
Jisr-el-Mujamyah,  a  distance  of  eight  miles  in 
which  there  is  a  fall  of  forty  metres.  Generating 
stations  and  power-houses  are  to  be  erected  at 
Jaffa,  Haifa  and  Jerusalem.  It  is  estimated  that 
seventy  million  kilowatt  hours  can  be  made  avail¬ 
able  by  the  initial  project,  or  three  times  more  than 
the  present  needs  of  the  country. 

The  first  phase,  alone,  of  the  Eutenberg  plan, 
which  has  been  checked  up  and  endorsed  by  leading 
engineers  of  four  countries  and  has  been  approved 
by  the  British  and  Palestine  governments,  will  give 
direct  employment  to  3,000  men,  and  indirect  em¬ 
ployment  to  many  thousands  more.  It  will  make 
possible  the  carrying  out  of  many  industrial  under¬ 
takings,  for  many  of  which  capital  has  already 
been  subscribed  in  private  corporations,  or  contem¬ 
plated  by  private  individuals,  which  could  not  be 
carried  out  because  of  Palestine’s  lack  of  fuel.  It 
will  materially  solve  the  problem  in  Palestine 
caused  by  the  influx  of  thousands  of  “  Chalutzim,” 
and  will  help  toward  lowering  the  immigration  bar¬ 
riers  set  up  by  the  Government  because  of  prevail¬ 
ing  lack  of  employment. 

Putenberg’s  plans  have  been  checked  up  by  Dr. 
L.  C.  Lowenstein,  consulting  engineer  of  the  Gen¬ 
eral  Electric  Company  of  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  and 
other  engineers  on  the  staff  of  that  company;  by 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


191 


the  Electricity  Commission  of  the  British  Govern¬ 
ment;  by  Dr.  L.  W.  Majerczik,  consulting  engineer 
of  the  German  Electric  Company,  known  through¬ 
out  the  world  as  “  Die  Allgemeine,”  who  made  his 
investigations  in  Palestine,  and  by  the  experts  of 
Baron  Edmond  de  Rothschild,  of  Paris. 

When  they  shall  have  finished  their  good  work, 
the  Lord  has  promised  to  drive  them  all  out  from 
before  us.  As  He  formerly  first  drove  out  the 
heathen  nations  before  He  brought  in  our  fore¬ 
fathers. 

The  land  having  been  rid  of  them  and  having 
been  cleansed  from  its  defilement  through  the  shed¬ 
ding  of  their  own  blood  upon  it,  then  shall  we,  who 
have  been  cleansed  from  our  sins  through  faith  in 
the  blood  of  Christ,  come  down  with  our  Lord  and 
take  possession  of  the  land  promised  to  our  Father 
Abraham  and  to  his  seed,  “  and  if  ye  be  Christ’s, 
then  are  ye  Abraham’s  seed,  and  heirs  according 
to  the  promise.”  Galatians  3 :  29.  Then  shall  we 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  labour  a  thousand  years, 
Halleluj  ah ! 

“For  the  Lord  will  have  mercy  on  Jacob  and 
will  yet  choose  Israel,  and  set  them  in  their  own 
land;  and  the  strangers  shall  be  joined  with  them, 
and  they  shall  cleave  to  the  house  of  Jacob.  And 
they  shall  take  them  captives,  whose  captives  they 
were;  and  they  shall  rule  over  their  oppressors.” 
Isaiah  14:  12. 

“  Cometh  this  blessedness  then  upon  the  circum- 


192  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


cision  only  or  upon  the  uncircumcision  also  ?  For 
we  say  that  faith  was  reckoned  to  Abraham  for 
righteousness.  How  was  it  then  reckoned?  When 
he  was  in  circumcision  or  in  uncircumcision?  Not 
in  circumcision  but  in  uncircumcision.  And  he 
received  the  sign  of  circumcision,  a  seal  of  right¬ 
eousness  of  the  faith  which  he  had  yet  being  uncir¬ 
cumcised,  that  he  might  he  the  father  of  all  them 
that  believe ,  though  they  be  not  circumcised,  that 
righteousness  might  be  imputed  unto  them  also; 
and  the  father  of  circumcision  to  them  who  are  not 
of  the  circumcision  only,  but  who  also  walk  in  the 
steps  of  that  faith  of  our  father  Abraham,  which 
he  had  being  yet  uncircumcised.  For  the  promise, 
that  he  should  be  the  heir  of  the  world  was  not  to 
Abraham,  or  to  his  seed,  through  the  law,  but 
through  the  righteousness  of  faith .  For  if  they 
which  are  of  the  law  be  heirs,  faith  is  made  void 
and  the  promise  made  of  none  effect.  Therefore 
it  is  of  faith,  that  it  might  be  by  grace,  to  the  end 
the  promise  might  be  sure  to  all  the  seed ,  not  to 
that  only  which  is  of  the  law,  but  to  that  also  which 
is  of  the  faith  of  Abraham,  who  is  the  father  of 
us  all.”  Homans  4 :  9-17. 

Isaiah,  the  prophet,  who,  700  years  before  Christ 
foresaw  His  crucifixion  and  ascension,  foresaw 
also  His  descent  with  all  those  who  are  His ;  at  the 
sight  of  which  he  exclaimed :  u  Who  are  these  that 
fly  as  a  cloud,  and  as  doves  to  their  windows  ?  ” 
Isaiah  60 :  8.  The  answer  to  this  question  evi- 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


193 


dently  is  that  which  John,  the  Revelator,  records: 
“  These  are  they  who  have  washed  their  robes  and 
made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.” 
Rev.  7 : 4.  Those,  evidently,  who  have  lived  and 
died  in  the  faith  of  Christ  and  who  went  np  to  be 
with  Him,  these  same  the  prophet  Isaiah  saw  com¬ 
ing  down  to  take  possession  of  the  land  promised 
to  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob. 

“  For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from 
heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  arch¬ 
angel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God:  and  the  dead 
in  Christ  shall  rise  first:  then  we  which  are  alive 
and  remain  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them 
in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  Air.” 
I  Thess.  4: 16-17, 

There  we  shall  remain  with  the  Lord  until  He 
has  finished  His  work  upon  the  earth. 

“  Because  a  short  work  will  the  Lord  make  upon 
the  earth.”  Then  will  be  fulfilled  this  much 
abused  and  often  misused  Scripture:  “Who  hath 
heard  such  a  thing ?  Who  hath  seen  such  things ? 
Shall  the  earth  he  made  to  bring  forth  in  one  day  f 
Or  shall  a  nation  he  horn  at  once  ?  For  as  soon  as 
Zion  travailed ,  she  brought  forth  her  children ” 
Isaiah  66:8.  The  earth  will  be  in  pain  like  a 
woman  in  travail  at  the  time  when  the  children  of 
God  are  brought  forth. 

Through  the  atonement  of  the  blood  of  Christ, 
the  seals  of  the  Old  Testament  are  now  broken  and 
the  Testament  is  open  to  every  legal  heir,  and 


194  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


every  one  can  read  for  himself  and  see  just  what 
the  Father  has  bequeathed  to  him  in  His  will. 
Concerning  the  land  of  promise,  we  read  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  “  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Son  of  man,  they 
that  inhabit  these  wastes  of  the  land  of  Israel  speak, 
saying,  Abraham  was  one,  and  he  inherited  the 
land;  hut  we  are  many,  the  land  is  given  us  for 
inheritance.77  Ezk.  33  :  24. 

Here  the  prophet  foresaw  that  the  people  who 
would  come  into  possession  of  this  land  would  lay 
claim  to  it  on  the  ground  that  God  had  promised 
it  to  Abraham  and  his  seed,  and  his  seed  was  to  be 
the  stars  of  the  firmament  for  multitude.  Thus 
they  reasoned :  “  Abraham  was  one  and  we  are 
many/7  and  because  they  were  many  they  concluded 
they  must  be  the  rightful  heirs,  not  knowing  that 
by  the  promise  the  heirs  with  faithful  Abraham 
not  only  will  be  many  in  number,  but  will  likewise 
also  have  to  be  of  the  same  faith  and  character  as 
faithful  Abraham. 

The  True  Characters  of  the  Heirs 

Such,  namely,  “  Who  have  purified  their  souls 
in  obeying  the  truth  through  the  Spirit  unto  un¬ 
feigned  love  of  the  brethren ;  who  love  one  another 
with  a  pure  heart  fervently;  being  bom  again,  not 
of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the 
word  of  God  which  livetli  and  abideth  forever.77 
I  Peter  1 :  23. 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


195 


The  Character  of  the  Illegal  Heirs  and 

Their  Fate  Disclosed 

u  Wherefore,  say  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  Jehovah,  Ye  eat  with  the  blood,  and  lift  your 
eyes  towards  your  idols,  and  shed  blood,  and  shall 
ye  possess  the  land?  Ye  stand  upon  your  swords, 
ye  work  abomination,  and  ye  defile  everyone  his 
neighbour’s  wife  and  shall  ye  possess  the  land? 
Say  thou  thus  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  Je¬ 
hovah:  As  I  live,  surely  they  that  are  in  the 
wastes)  shall  fall  by  the  sword  and  him  that  is  in 
the  open  field  will  I  give  to  the  beast  to  be  de¬ 
voured  and  they  that  be  in  the  forest  and  in  the 
caves  shall  die,  of  the  pestilence.  For  I  will  lay 
the  land  most  desolate,  and  the  pomp  of  her 
strength  shall  cease;  and  the  mountains  of  Israel 
shall  be  desolate  that  none  shall  pass  through.” 
Ezek.  33 :  24-39. 

Concerning  the  Mountains  and  Valleys 

“  Thus  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah;  because  the 
enemy  hath  said  against  you,  Aha,  even  the  ancient 
high  places  are  ours  in  possession;  prophesy  there¬ 
fore  concerning  the  land  of  Israel,  and  say  unto 
the  mountains,  and  to  the  hills,  to  the  rivers,  and 
to  the  valleys;  Thus  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah,  Be¬ 
hold,  I  have  spoken  in  my  jealousy  and  in  my  fury, 
because  ye  have  borne  the  shame  of  the  heathen, 
therefore,  thus  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah;  I  have 
lifted  up  mine  hand.  Surely,  the  heathen  that  are 


196  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


about  you,  they  shall  bear  their  shame.  But  ye, 
O  mountains  of  Israel,  ye  shall  shoot  forth  your 
branches,  and  yield  your  fruit  to  my  people  of 
Israel  for  they  are  at  hand  to  come.”  Ezek. 
36:2-8. 

Thus  the  Lord  has  most  clearly  set  forth  in  His 
Testament  the  disposition  of  the  inheritance  and 
the  disposition  also  of  them  who  have  illegally  ap¬ 
propriated  the  inheritance;  in  like  manner,  also, 
He  has  designated  the  manner  and  character  of  the 
rightful  heirs  with  faithful  Abraham.  If  our  un¬ 
derstanding  has  been  opened  by  the  Lord  to  the 
truths  of  His  word,  the  devil  cannot  cheat  us  out 
of  our  God  appointed  portion;  neither  will  anyone 
be  able  to  deceive  God  in  claiming  for  his  own  that 
to  which  he  has  no  right.  God  Himself  holds  the 
records  of  everyone  born  into  His  Kingdom;  He 
knows  the  heirs  everyone  by  name  and  every  man’s 
genealogy  will  be  traced.  As  could  the  Israelites 
under  the  law  trace  their  lineage  back  to  the  very 
tribe  out  of  which  they  originally  sprang,  so,  also, 
do  we  read,  shall  it  be  said  of  Zion :  “  This  and 
that  man  was  born  in  her,  and  the  highest  him¬ 
self  shall  establish  her  and  the  Lord  Jehovah  shall 
count,  when  he  writeth  up  the  people,  that  this  man 
was  bora  there.”  Psalms  87 :  5-6. 

You  see  how  very  important  it  is  to  be  bora 
again  and  why  Jesus  said:  “  Except  a  man  be  bom 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  Kingdom  of  God.”  This 
is  necessary  in  order  that  our  name  might  be  re- 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


197 


corded  in  the  “  Book  of  Life  ”  and  thus  make  our 
calling  and  election  sure. 

For  the  same  reason,  also,  He  said  unto  His 
disciples  when  they  returned  rejoicing  because 
demons  were  subject  unto  them,  saying:  u  In  this 
rejoice  not,  that  the  spirits  are  subject  unto  you; 
but  rather  rejoice,  because  your  names  are  written 
in  heaven.”  Luke  10 :  20.  Showing  that  to  have 
our  names  recorded  in  heaven  is  the  most  important 
of  all. 

This  record,  evidently,  also  is  the  book  in  which 
Moses  had  his  name  recorded,  which  he  offered  to 
God  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  his  people,  since 
he  could  offer  nothing  greater,  saying:  “  Yet  now, 
if  thou  wilt  forgive  their  sin:  and  if  not,  blot  me, 
I  pray  thee,  out  of  thy  book  which  thou  hast  writ¬ 
ten.”  Exodus  32 :  32. 

Is  your  name  recorded  there?  Thank  God,  it 
can  be.  This  is  the  day  and  now  is  the  time  when 
God  is  fulfilling  that  good  thing  promised  unto  us 
J ews :  “  I  will  take  you  one  of  a  city,  and  two  of 
a  family,  and  will  bring  you  to  Zion.”  Jer.  3 : 14. 
This  is  that  Mount  Zion  which  is  above ;  “  the  city 
of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and 
general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first  born, 
which  are  written  in  heaven.”  Heb.  12 :  22-23. 

Those  that  enter  there  in  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
are  the  same  who  will  come  down  with  Him  in 
their  redeemed  bodies  and  take  possession  of  the 
land  promised  to  our  father,  Abraham,  and  his  seed 


198  OUT  O F  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


forever.  Abraham  believed  God,  and  in  that  faith 
he  died ;  “  He  being  full  persuaded  that  what  God 
had  promised,  he  was  able  also  to  perform.” 
Homans  4:  21. 

The  Promise 

“  Thus  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah:  behold,  O  my 
people,  I  will  open  your  graves,  and  cause  you  to 
come  up  out  of  your  graves,  and  bring  you  into 
the  land  of  Israel.  And  ye  shall  know  that  I  am 
the  Jehovah  when  I  have  opened  your  graves,  O 
my  people,  and  brought  you  up  out  of  your  graves, 
and  shall  put  my  spirit  in  you,  and  ye  shall  live, 
and  I  shall  place  you  in  your  own  land;  then  shall 
ye  know  that  I,  the  Jehovah,  have  spoken  it  and 
performed  it,  saith  the  J ehovah.”  Ezek.  37 : 12-14. 

The  Fulfillment 

Of  this  resurrection  of  our  bodies  and  our  re¬ 
uniting  again  with  our  spirits,  God  has  given  us 
positive  assurance  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  from  the  dead.  Thereby  also  He  has  as¬ 
sured  to  us  our  inheritance  in  the  promised  land. 
Thus :  “  Christ  is  become  the  first  fruits  of  them 
that  slept;  afterwards,  they  that  are  Christ’s  at  his 
coming.”  I  Cor.  15:23.  “  For  the  Jehovah,  my 

God,  shall  come  and  all  the  saints  with  thee.” 
Zech.  14:  5.  It  was  for  the  joy  that  was  set  be¬ 
fore  Him  (Christ)  of  accomplishing  this  resurrec¬ 
tion  for  us  which  caused  Him  to  “  endure  the 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


199 


cross,  despising  the  shame.”  Heh.  12 : 2.  The 
corn  of  wheat  was  willing  to  fall  into  the  ground 
and  die,  that  it  might  bring  forth  the  harvest. 

By  faith  He  already  saw  the  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  and  thousands  of  thousands  standing 
before  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb  singing  the 
new  song,  saying :  “  Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the 
book,  and  to  open  the  seals  thereof;  for  thou  wast 
slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood 
out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue  and  people  and 
nation;  and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and 
priests;  and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth”  Rev. 
5 :  9,  10-11.  It  is  the  hope  of  attaining  unto  this 
glorious  resurrection  through  Him  which  makes  us 
willing  to  forsake  all  and  take  up  our  cross  to  fol¬ 
low  Him. 

This  resurrection  is  the  fulfilled  promise  of  God 
to  our  fathers  in  the  Old  Testament:  “  Thy  dead 
men  shall  live;  together  with  my  dead  body  shall 
they  arise.  Awake  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  the 
dust  of  the  earth;  for  thy  dew  is  as  the  dew  of 
herbs,  and  the  earth  shall  cast  out  the  dead.” 
Isaiah  25 : 19. 

A  Cloud  of  Witnesses 

To  be  partakers  in  the  resurrection  of  the  just 
was  the  constant  joy  and  expectation  of  all  the 
apostles  and  prophets,  and  in  all  their  trials  and 
conflicts,  in  all  their  persecutions  and  sufferings, 


200  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


the  hope  of  attaining  unto  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  proved  their  chief  comfort  and  consolation. 

It  was  the  earnest  expectation  to  attain  unto  this 
resurrection,  which  spurred  on  the  Apostle  Paul  in 
his  untiring  endeavours  for  Christ.  And  in  the 
midst  of  all  manner  of  fiery  trials,  persecutions, 
hunger,  nakedness  and  in  the  face  of  death  itself, 
we  hear  the  voice  of  Paul  resounding  like  echoes 
of  pealing  thunders:  “Hone  of  these  things  move 
me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so 
that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the 
ministry  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
to  testify  of  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.” 
Acts  20 : 24.  “  I  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all 

things,”  he  adds,  “  and  do  count  them  but  dung 
that  I  may  win  Christ — that  I  may  know  him  and 
the  power  of  his  resurrection,  and  the  fellowship 
of  his  sufferings — if  by  any  means  I  might  attain 
unto  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.”  Phil.  3 : 10, 
11.  “  In  the  hope  of  this  resurrection,  Abraham, 

when  he  was  called  to  go  out  into  a  place  which  he 
should  after  receive  for  an  inheritance ,  obeyed ;  and 
he  went  out,  not  knowing  whither  he  went.  By 
faith  he  sojourned  in  the  land  of  promise  as  in 
a  strange  country,  dwelling  in  tabernacles  with 
Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  heirs  with  him  of  the  same 
promise.”  Heb.  11 :  8-9.  In  this  faith  they  all 
died,  not  having  received  the  promise  but  believing 
God  was  able  to  raise  them  up  from  the  dead  to 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


201 


fulfill  His  promise  and  give  them  their  inheri¬ 
tance. 

In  the  hope  of  this  resurrection,  “  Moses  when 
he  was  come  to  years  refused  to  he  called  the  son 
of  Pharaoh’s  daughter,  choosing  rather  to  suffer 
affliction  with  the  people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy 
the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season;  esteeming  the 
reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures 
of  Egypt,  for  he  had  respect  unto  the  recompense 
of  the  reward . 

Job,  in  his  day,  foresaw  this  resurrection  and 
testified  concerning  it  in  life  and  in  this  faith  he 
died,  saying:  “I  know  that  my  redeemer  liveth, 
and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the 
earth ;  and  though  after  my  skin  worms  destroy 
this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God :  whom  I 
shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold, 
and  not  another.”  Job  19:25-26. 

David  also  lived  in  this  faith,  and  died  in  the 
firm  assurance  of  this  glorious  resurrection,  leav¬ 
ing  his  testimony  on  record  for  our  consolation, 
saying:  “As  for  me,  I  will  behold  thy  face  in 
righteousness:  I  shall  he  satisfied,  when  I  awake 
with  thy  likeness.”  Psalms  17 :  15. 

In  the  hope  of  this  resurrection  Jacob  also,  when 
he  was  dying,  blessed  the  sons  of  Joseph  under  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  believing  that  through  the  death 
of  Christ  all  His  children  will  he  gathered  to¬ 
gether  into  the  bond  of  peace.  “  Others  had  trials 
of  cruel  mockings  and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover  of 


202  OUT  OP  THE  HOUSE  OP  JUDAH 


bonds  and  imprisonment.  They  were  stoned,  they 
were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted,  were  slain  with 
the  sword;  they  wandered  about  in  sheepskins  and 
goatskins ;  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented ; 
they  wandered  in  deserts  and  in  mountains  and  in 
dens  and  caves  of  the  earth.”  Heb.  11 :  36-39. 
These  all  died  in  faith,  not  having  received  tbe 
promises,  but  having  seen  them  afar  off,  they  were 
persuaded  of  them  and  embraced  them,  and  through 
their  faith  confessed  that  they  were  strangers  and 
pilgrims  on  the  earth  “  and  died  in  hope  of  this 
resurrection.”  u  Others  were  tortured,  not  accept¬ 
ing  deliverance  that  they  might  obtain  a  better 
resurrection.” 

It  was  the  revelation  of  Israel  in  her  new  resur¬ 
rected  state  which  caused  Balaam,  the  heathen 
prophet,  to  exclaim :  “  Who  can  count  the  dust  of 
J acob,  and  number  the  fourth  part  of  Israel  ?  Let 
me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous  and  let  my  last 
end  be  like  his !  ”  Numbers  23 :  10. 

Not  only  is  this  bodily  resurrection  the  hope  of 
all  believers  in  Christ  now  living,  but  this  bodily 
resurrection  likewise  is  the  earnest  expectation  of 
all  the  redeemed  souls  already  in  heaven.  John, 
the  Bevelator,  declares :  “  They  sung  a  new  song, 
saying,  Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the  book,  and  to 
open  the  seals  thereof;  for  thou  wast  slain,  and 
hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every 
kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation;  and 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


203 


Last  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests,  and 
we  shall  reign  on  the  earth”  Rev.  5 :  9-10. 

The  Apostle  Paul  says:  “  For  we  know  that  the 
whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  to¬ 
gether  until  now  and  not  only  they,  but  ourselves 
also,  which  have  the  first  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  even 
we  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves  waiting  for  the 
adoption,  to-wit:  the  redemption  of  our  body.” 
Romans  8:23.  And  again,  “  Blessed  and  holy  is 
he  that  hath  part  in  the  first  resurrection ;  on  such 
the  second  death  hath  no  power;  but  they  shall  be 
priests  of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  shall  reign  with 
him  a  thousand  years  ”  Rev.  20 :  6. 

“  Behold,  I  will  gather  them  out  of  all  countries 
whither  I  have  driven  them  in  mine  anger,  and 
in  my  fury,  and  in  great  wrath;  and  I  will  bring 
them  again  unto  this  place  and  I  will  cause  them 
to  dwell  safely.”  “  Yea,  I  will  rejoice  over  them 
to  do  them  good,  and  I  will  plant  them  in  this  land 
assuredly,  with  my  whole  heart  and  with  my  whole 
soul.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  like  as  I  have 
brought  all  this  great  evil  upon  this  people,  so  will 
I  bring  upon  them  all  the  good  that  I  have  prom¬ 
ised  them.”  Jer.  32:27-42. 

“  They  shall  no  more  be  a  prey  to  the  heathen, 
neither  shall  the  beast  of  the  land  devour  them,  but 
they  shall  dwell  safely,  and  none  shall  make  them 
afraid,  they  shall  dwell  safely  in  the  wilderness 
and  sleep  in  the  woods.”  Ezek.  34:  25-28. 

With  the  fulfillment  of  this  bodily  resurrection 


204  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


will  be  fulfilled  tbe  accusation  Pilate  wrote  on  a 
placard  in  Hebrew,  Greek  and  Latin  and  nailed  to 
the  cross  of  Christ:  “  This  is  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
the  King  of  the  Jews.” 

For  then,  “  the  Lord  of  Hosts  shall  reign  in 
Mount  Zion,  and  in  Jerusalem,  and  before  his 
ancients  gloriously.”  Isaiah  24:  23.  “  And  should 
one  say  unto  him,  What  are  these  wounds  in  thine 
hands  ?  Then  he  shall  answer,  those  with  which  I 
was  wounded  in  the  house  of  my  friends.”  Zech. 
13:6.  His  enemies  will  then  be  clothed  with 
shame,  but  upon  Himself  shall  His  crown  flourish. 
Then,  also,  will  our  long  looked  for  expectations 
have  been  realized.  “  They  shall  sit  every  man 
under  his  own  vine  and  under  his  fig  tree;  and 
none  shall  make  them  afraid,  for  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord  hath  spoken  it.”  Micah  4 :  4. 

Peace — Our  Expected  End  Realized 

The  question  the  disciples  asked  Jesus  after  He 
was  risen  from  the  dead,  “  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this 
time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?  ”  will  be 
answered  at  that  time.  The  prayer  of  ages,  “  Thy 
Kingdom  come,  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth  as  in 
heaven,”  will  have  been  answered  at  this  time. 
Peace,  the  desire  of  all  nations,  will  be  enjoyed 
by  all  them  who  accepted  the  “  Prince  of  Peace.” 
Now,  also,  will  be  fulfilled  tbe  prophecy,  “  They 
shall  beat  their  swords  into  plowshares,  and  their 
spears  into  pruning  hooks;  nation  shall  not  lift  up 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


205 


sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war 
any  more  ” — for  the  space  of  a  thousand  years,  at 
least. 

At  that  same  time  also,  “  There  was  silence  in 
heaven,”  the  cry  of  the  saints,  “  How  long,  0  Lord, 
holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our 
blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  ?  ”  will  have 
been  answered  for  the  time  of  tribulation  will  then 
have  passed  and  their  cry  for  vengeance  will  have 
ceased. 

Palestine,  the  land  of  promise,  the  land  of  rest, 
the  land  of  joy  and  gladness,  is  now  safely  in¬ 
habited  as  towns  without  walls,  having  neither 
bars  nor  gates.  Jerusalem  is  now  called  the  City 
of  Righteousness,  the  City  of  Truth,  the  City  of 
the  Lord,  the  Zion  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 
“  The  inhabitant  shall  not  say,  I  am  sick,  the  peo¬ 
ple  that  dwell  therein  shall  be  forgiven  their 
iniquity.” 

“  There  shall  no  more  be  an  infant  of  days,  nor 
an  old  man  that  hath  not  filled  his  days.” 

“  In  that  day  shall  there  be  upon  the  bells  of  the 
horses,  Holiness  to  the  Lord ” 

“  He  shall  have  dominion  also  from  sea  to  sea, 
and  from  the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.” 

“  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the 
first  resurrection;  on  such  the  second  death  hath 
no  power,  but  they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of 
Christ,  and  shall  reign  with  him  a  thousand  years.” 
Rev.  20:6.  Hallelujah. 


206  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


Then  will  be  fulfilled  the  words  of  Jesus  to  His 
disciples  on  the  night  of  the  last  Passover: 
“  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  drink  no  more  of 
the  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day  that  I  drink 
it  new  in  the  kingdom  of  God.”  St.  Mark  4 :  25. 

Then  shall  we,  who  are  resurrected  with  Him, 
also  understand  the  answer  Jesus  made  to  Pilate 
to  the  question,  “  Art  thou  a  king  then  ?  ”  “  Thou 

sayest  that  I  am  a  king.  To  this  end  was  I  born 
and  for  this  cause  came  I  into  the  world  that  I 
should  bear  witness  unto  the  truth.”  And  should 
one  say  to  Him  (in  that  day),  “What  are  these 
wounds  in  Thine  hands  ?  ”  then  He  shall  answer, 
“  Those  with  which  I  was  wounded  in  the  house  of 
my  friends.”  “  His  enemies  will  then  be  clothed 
with  shame,  but  upon  Himself  shall  His  crown 
flourish.” 

Christ  the  Only  Means  of  Restoration 

“  See  ye  refuse  not  him  that  speaketh.”  For 
this  may  be  the  last  time  you  may  hear  His  voice, 
and  your  last  chance  of  entering  into  the  promised 
land.  Yes,  “  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate 
(Christ  is  the  door) ;  for  many,  I  say  unto  you, 
shall  seek  to  enter  in  and  shall  not  be  able.”  Luke 
13 :  24.  Do  not  wait  any  longer  for  the  Messiah 
to  come  for  your  waiting  is  vain,  the  Messiah  has 
come  and  He  is  now  waiting  for  your  coming  to 
Him,  and  I  fear  your  time  is  short.  Jesus  is  the 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


207 


Christ — the  Messiah.  He  will  come  to  you  when 
you  meet  the  required  conditions. 

The  Lord,  foreseeing  our  rejecting  Him  when 
He  was  here,  spoke  of  it  before  through  the  mouth 
of  the  prophet,  “  I  will  go  and  return  to  my  place/’ 
then  adding  when  we  shall  see  Him  again,  “  Till 
they  acknowledge  their  offence  and  seek  my  face.” 

Hot  in  Palestine  at  some  future  time,  hut 
through  repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  you  find  Him. 

Heither  has  the  Lord  given  us  any  reason  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  Jews  will  be  saved  in  any  other  way,  or 
by  any  other  means  than  those  provided  commonly 
for  the  salvation  of  the  whole  world,  “  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  shall  be  saved,”  and  “  Behold  now 
is  the  accepted  time,  behold  now  is  the  day  of 
salvation.” 

“  To-day,  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not 
your  heart.”  “  Ye  shall  seek  me  and  find  me,  when 
ye  shall  search  for  me  with  all  your  heart,  and  I> 
will  be  found  of  you.”  “  For  there  is  no  differ¬ 
ence  between  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks  (Gentiles), 
for  the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich  unto  all  that  call 
upon  him.”  “  Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved.” 

These ,  and  these  only,  are  God's  conditions  of 
peace  and  salvation,  and  the  only  means  provided 
for  our  restoration  to  the  promised  land. 

My  dear  brethren,  let  no  man  deceive  you  in 
any  wise  with  any  vain  and  unscriptural  hopes,  for 


208  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


we  read  “  the  god  of  this  world  hath  blinded  the 
minds  of  many.”  We  are  also  warned  “  not  to 
believe  every  spirit,  but  try  the  spirits  whether 
they  are  of  God.”  The  apostle  also  exhorts  us 
u  not  to  be  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doc¬ 
trine,”  since  there  are  divers  and  strange  doctrines 
in  the  world. 

If  we  take  into  consideration  the  many  doctrines 
that  are  being  taught  and  compare  them  with  the 
“  one  doctrine  ”  of  Christ,  it  would  truly  seem  as 
if  the  false  doctrines  had  almost  crowded  truth  out 
of  the  world.  “  Yea,  truth  faileth ;  and  he  that 
departed  from  evil  maketh  himself  a  prey.”  Be- 
cause  of  the  false  teaching  our  forefathers  in  the 
past  became  blinded  to  the  truth  and  failed  to 
recognize  Him,  who  is  “  the  way ,  the  truth  and  the 
life ”  sad  to  say,  they  missed  their  soul’s  salva¬ 
tion,  the  kingdom  of  God  and  eternal  life. 

Wherefore,  seeing  how  very  dangerous  it  is  for 
us  to  trust  this  all-important  question,  the  salva¬ 
tion  of  our  souls  to  others,  let  us  be  wiser  to-day 
tii an  were  our  fathers  in  the  past,  let  us  believe 
God  rather  than  men,  and  do  His  will;  for  “  if  any 
man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doc¬ 
trine  whether  it  be  of  God  or  whether  I  speak  of 
myself.” 

Wherefore,  my  brethren,  after  having  accepted 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Living  God  by  faith,  do  not 
rest  nor  be  content  until  you  receive  the  revelation 
from  God  through  the  Holy  Spirit  and  can  with 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


209 


Simon  Peter  exclaim  “  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  Living  God.”  Christ  has  promised  to 
reveal  Himself  unto  each  individual  soul  that  ear¬ 
nestly  seeks  Him. 

“  He  that  hath  my  commandments,  and  keepeth 
them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  me;  and  he  that  loveth 
me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I  will  love 
him,  and  will  manifest  myself  to  him.”  John 
14:21. 

“  Soon  as  my  all  I  ventured  on  the  atoning  hlood 
The  Holy  Spirit  entered,  and  I  was  born  to  God; 

My  sins  are  all  forgiven,  I  feel  His  blood  applied, 

And  I  shall  go  to  heaven,  if  I  in  Christ  abide.” 

In  conclusion,  I  would  suggest  to  every  one  of 
my  Jewish  brethren  to  lay  aside  all  preconceived, 
inbred,  J ewish  prejudice  against  the  name  of  J esus 
Christ,  then  carefully  and  prayerfully  read  the 
fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah.  This  chapter  is  alto¬ 
gether  Jewish,  and  can  therefore  in  no  wise  con¬ 
taminate  your  pure  Jewish  mind. 

Here  you  will  clearly  see  that  atonement  was 
made  by  One  who  was  wounded  for  our  transgres¬ 
sions  and  bruised  for  our  iniquities,  that  through 
His  stripes  we  are  healed,  to  Whom  the  Prophet 
Isaiah  makes  allusion  forty-nine  times  in  this  one 
chapter. 

In  connection  with  this  chapter,  I  suggest  you 
carefully  read  with  unbiased  mind  the  record  of 
the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ  in  the  Hew 
Testament.  Then  intelligently  compare  the  two. 


210  OUT  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH 


Will  you  give  this  case  the  same  earnest  and  honest 
consideration  and  impartial  decision  that  you  would 
to  any  case  in  court,  if  called  on  to  serve  as  a 
juror?  That  is,  try  the  case  entirely  on  its  own 
merits.  If,  after  close  examination,  you  find  that 
the  Christ  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament  did  not 
possess  the  attributes  accorded  Him  and  spoken  of 
in  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah,  and  also  that 
the  death  of  the  Christ  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  does  not  accord  with  the  description  given  in 
the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah,  then  of  course  it 
is  your  duty  as  a  fair-minded  and  rational  man  to 
publish  the  true  evidence  which  will  condemn  the 
Christ  of  the  New  Testament,  and  brand  Him  as 
the  greatest  fraud  and  impostor  in  all  history. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  after  close  examination 
and  careful  consideration  of  the  evidence  given  on 
both  sides,  you  find  that  the  Christ  in  the  New 
Testament  possessed  all  the  attributes  described  in 
the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah,  certainly  accords 
with  the  death  scene  of  the  Christ  in  the  New 
Testament,  then  I  am  sure  you  will  be  honest  and 
fair  to  your  own  judgment  and  acknowledge  the 
truth,  and  in  compliance  with  your  reason,  fall 
down  before  God  and  confess  the  mistake  of  your 
life  and  accept  the  Christ  of  the  New  Testament  as 
your  atonement. 

Whatever  your  previous  opinion  might  have  been 
of  Christ,  I  would  caution  you  to  be  very  careful 
as  to  how  you  decide  in  this  matter.  For  He  that 


APPEAL  TO  ISRAEL 


211 


is  spoken  of  being  our  Christ,  our  Saviour,  is  also 
spoken  of  being  our  Judge. 

If  we  err  in  judgment,  and  condemn  the  Christ, 
that  “  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions  and 
bruised  for  our  iniquities,”  then  are  we  in  peril  of 
being  condemned  by  Him,  when  brought  before 
Him  for  judgment. 

“  Although  thou  sayest  thou  shalt  not  see  him, 
yet  judgment  is  before  him,  therefore  trust  thou 
in  him.” 

“  For  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  shall  bow, 
of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and  things 
under  the  earth,  and  every  tongue  shall  confess  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father.” 


APPENDIX 


Prom  Bev.  W.  M.  Tufts,  D.  D.,  Pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Boston,  Mass. : 

Dear  Adjutant  Abrams: 

I  have  read  with  the  deepest  interest  the 
account  of  your  experience,  and  I  can  truly 
say  that  no  manuscript  has  ever  come  into  my 
hands  which  moved  me  as  this  autobiography 
of  yours  has  done.  You  and  your  wife  passed 
through  everything  to  be  faithful  to  the  Mes¬ 
siah,  and  you  followed  the  star  even  to  a 
manger  of  humiliation  and  amazement.  You 
found  no  easy  way,  and  the  joy  and  the  power 
you  have  to-day  is  due  in  no  small  measure, 
we  must  believe,  to  the  fierce  and  searching 
test  you  endured  at  the  hands  of  men  who 
hated  you  and  hated  your  Master.  May  God 
bless  you  and  greatly  enrich  you  in  the  experi¬ 
ence  of  the  grace  of  Christ  and  in  the  work 
you  have  undertaken  for  Him. 

From  Col.  Samuel  L.  Brengle,  D.  D.,  Interna¬ 
tional  Evangelist  of  the  Salvation  Army,  to  Adju¬ 
tant  Abrams: 

I  have  read  your  manuscript  with  deep  in¬ 
terest.  It  is  a  wonderful  story  and  strangely 
warmed  and  moved  my  heart.  I  hope  you 

may  have  it  published,  for  I  am  sure  it  will 

212 


APPENDIX 


213 


do  much  good.  If  it  does  not  reach  the  Jew 
directly,  it  will  reach  him  indirectly  by  stir¬ 
ring  up  Christians  to  love  him,  and  to  pray, 
and  work,  and  sacrifice  for  his  salvation. 

From  the  late  Dr.  Daniel  Steele,  Milton,  Mass. : 

The  manuscript  Adjutant  Abrams  has  pre¬ 
pared  has  been  read  to  me  by  its  author,  and 
I  wish  to  commend  it  to  both  J ews  and 
Gentiles. 

Especially  will  it  be  of  profit  to  Christian 
people  who  desire  the  salvation  of  the  Jews 
now  coming  to  our  shores  in  such  large 
numbers. 

Every  Christian  should  be  acquainted  with 
the  religious  conditions  of  their  Jewish  neigh¬ 
bours  and  the  best  way  of  preaching  Christ  to 
them.  This  Adjutant  Abrams  does  by  show¬ 
ing  from  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  how 
Christ  is  foretold  and  revealed  in  various 
types  and  prophecies.  His  own  conversion 
demonstrates  how  much  it  costs  a  Jew  to  ac¬ 
cept  Christ. 

It  meant  the  loss  of  all  his  kindred,  even 
his  father,  brothers  and  sisters,  regarding  him 
as  dead  and  holding  a  funeral  service  in  con¬ 
formity  with  Jewish  rites. 

All  of  this  is  detailed  in  very  vivid  and 
affecting  manner,  the  hearing  of  which  was  a 
means  of  grace  to  me,  with  thanksgiving  to 
God  that  I  was  bom  of  Christian  parents. 

Let  everybody  read  this  book.  I  predict  for 
it  a  large  circulation,  resulting  in  much  good. 
I  most  heartily  commend  this  article  to  all 


214 


APPENDIX 


who  desire  to  hasten  the  time  when  the  Jews 
shall  accept  Christ  as  their  Messiah  King. 

From  Kev.  O.  P.  Gifford,  Brookline,  Mass. : 

I  have  read  the  spiritual  autobiography  of 
Adjutant  Abrams.  It  stirred  my  soul.  I 
wish  it  might  be  put  in  permanent  form.  I 
am  sure  it  will  do  much  good. 

From  Mrs.  Staff-Captain  Wm.  Palmer,  formerly 
Major  Agnes  L.  Page,  Secretary  to  Commander 
Evangeline  Booth: 

I  read  your  book  with  great  interest.  It  is 
clearly  and  convincingly  written,  and  the  story 
that  it  conveys  of  your  experience  of  the  won¬ 
derful  salvation  of  God  is  likely  to  prove  of 
real  and  rich  blessing  to  the  hearts  of  every 
reader. 

From  Dr.  A.  Z.  Conrad,  Park  Street  Church, 
Boston,  Mass.: 

I  have  read  the  clear  statements  of  experi¬ 
ence  and  the  earnest  appeal  of  Adjutant 
Abrams.  It  is  a  revelation  of  the  power  of 
Christ  in  a  human  soul.  It  reveals  what 
Truth  will  do  in  a  life  when  it  has  a  fair 
chance.  It  attests  to  the  great  realities  and 
verities  of  religious  experience  and  Inspired 
Revelation.  The  appeal  in  behalf  of  the 
Hebrew  is  well  grounded,  intense  and  logical. 
It  is  abundantly  worthy  of  publication  and 
will  certainly  have  a  wide  reading  and  will 
exercise  a  powerful  influence  for  good. 

From  Dr.  Charles  J.  Fowler,  Editor  of  The 


APPENDIX 


215 


Christian  Witness  and  President  of  the  National 
Holiness  Association,  Boston,  Mass.: 

I  have  read  with  interest  and  profit  tho 
matter  Adjutant  Abrams  has  prepared,  and 
which  I  hope  may  be  put  in  book  form  for  the 
public. 

It  is  thrilling.  It  shows  what  it  still  costs 
to  turn  to  Christ  and  follow  Him,  especially 
what  it  costs  a  Jew. 

This  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Church, 
and  should  encourage  all  to  see  that  what  has 
been  done  in  this  case  can  be  again  and 
often. 

This  matter  should  get  into  the  hands  of 
the  Jew,  here  is  a  preacher,  and  by  it  the  Jew 
can  “  hear  ”  and  “  believe.” 

From  Bev.  Prof.  Luther  T.  Townsend,  D.  D., 
LL.  D.,  Brookline,  Mass.: 

We  have  read  the  story  of  Mr.  Abrams’ 
conversion  from  Judaism  to  Christianity,  and 
have  found  it  full  of  pathetic  interest. 

His  trials,  his  abiding  loyalty  to  his  convic¬ 
tions,  his  triumphs  and  joys  in  adversity 
through  his  faith  in  Christ  are  such  as  will 
arrest  the  serious  attention  of  Jews  and  be 
very  helpful  to  Christians  who  may  read  the 
story.  For  the  good  it  would  be  sure  to  do, 
we  hope  it  may  find  a  publisher. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


- 


DATE  DUE 

rn}r 

« 

HIGHSMITH 

5230 

Printed 

In  USA 

